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THE 


Spanish  Main; 


OR, 


Thirty  Days  on  the  Caribbean. 


By   EDWARD    T.   HALL. 


Illustrations   from  the  Author's   Photographs,  Engraved   by 
Miss  Julia   M.  Hall. 


BUFFALO: 
THE     COURIER    COMPANY,     PRINTERS. 

lS88. 


^'^'  SANTA  B^i^°«~i^ 


fl3 


THE   SPANISH   MAIN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

A  Voyage  to  the  Spanish  Main. 

I  WAS  born  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  spent  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  early  part  of  my  life  in  that  great- 
metropolis. 

In  my  school-boy  days  it  was  my  infinite  delight  to  roam 
and  linger  along  the  docks  and  watch  the  stately  ships  as- 
they  came  and  went,  or  as  they  lay  at  their  piers  discharging 
or  taking  in  cargo.  As  I  gazed  at  the  tapering  masts  and 
spars  and  saw  the  sailors  running  up  and  down  the  shrouds 
and  ratlins  like  squirrels,  or  clinging  to  the  cross-yards  like 
spiders  on  a  wall,  I  wished  that  I  could  be  a  sailor.  But  as 
I  grew  older,  and  by  education  came  to  know  the  hardships 
and  privations  of  a  sailor's  life  as  well  as  its  perils,  and  more 
especially  as  I  reflected  upon  his  necessitated  seclusion  from 
the  society  of  those  he  dearly  loves,  and  which  tends  so  much 
toward  making  up  the  sum  of  human  happiness,  I  was  easily 
persuaded  to  relinquish    the  desire  to  adopt  a  seafaring   life. 

But  my  love  for  the  ocean  and  my  longings  to  visit  foreign 
shores  grew  no  less  as  the  years  sped  on.  I  fed  my  passion 
on  the  entrancing  sea  novels  of  Cooper  and  Maryatt.  Like 
as  Claude  Melnotte  said  to  his  Pauline,  "  We'll  read.no  books 
that  are  not  tales  of  love,  that  we  may  smile  to  think  how 
poorly  eloquence  of  words  translates  the  poetry  of  hearts 
like  ours,"  so  did  I  seek  to  read  only  such  books  as  were  tales 


6  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

of  the  sea,  and  dream  of  that  happy  time — that  I  felt  sure 
would  come  to  me — when  I  could  gratify  the  yearnings  of  my 
heart. 

But,  as  if  to  mock  at  my  youthful  hopes.  Dame  Fortune 
decreed  that  I  should  live  for  many  years  an  inland  life, 
deprived  even  of  a  glimpse  of  the  ocean,  or  a  sight  of  those 
gallant  ships  which  bring  from  afar  for  us  the  products  of 
other  lands,  and  scatter  the  wealth  of  all  climes  broadcast 
among  the  sons  of  men. 

Thus  it  was  that  middle-life  had  come  and  gone  before  I 
was  able  in  any  degree  to  indulge  the  passion  which  had  so 
early  animated  my  breast,  and  which  has  never  ceased  to  burn 
brightly  on  the  altar  of  my  fondest  hopes. 

But  there  finally  came  a  time  when  I  could  lay  aside  tempo- 
rarily every  year  the  cares  of  business,  and  enjoy  with  keenest 
zest  the  ever-changing  experience  of  ocean  voyages  and  visits 
to  strange  countries. 

It  is  my  purpose  at  the  present  time  to  give  some  account 
of  a  voyage  to  the  Spanish  Main,  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
making  in  the  early  spring  months  of  1887. 

At  one  o'clock  on  Wednesday,  March  2d,  I  was  a  passenger 
on  the  iron  steamship  "  Philadelphia,"  of  the  Red  "D"  Line, 
which  sailed  from  Pier  36,  East  River,  in  the  port  of  New 
York.  The  day  was  an  exceptionally  fine  one  for  this  season 
of  the  year.  The  sun  shone  brightly  and  the  air  was  as  balmy 
•as  in  the  leafy  month  of  June.  A  tug-boat  helped  us  to 
swing  around  toward  the  bay  against  a  strong  flood  tide,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  were  steaming  majestically  along  under 
the  great  bridge  that  spans  the  East  River  and  unites  the  City 
of  New  York  to  her  sister  City  of  Brooklyn.  Soon  we  were 
rapidly  passing  the  now  famous  statue  of  "  Liberty  Enlight- 
ening the  World,"  sometimes  familiarly  called  "  Mademoiselle 
Bartholdi."     When  we  reached  Sandy  Hook  our  good-looking 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  7 

young  pilot,  after  courteously  shaking  hands  with  the  captain 
and  first  officer,  swung  himself  lightly  over  the  rail,  and  by  a 
rope-ladder  descended  to  a  small  row-boat  which  had  put  off 
from  a  pilot-boat,  on  a  signal  from  our  mast-head,  to  take  him 
from  our  steamer. 

To  a  landsman  the  transit  from  a  great  ocean  steamer  to  a 
little  row-boat,  which  bobs  up  and  down  on  the  waves  like  an 
egg-shell,  would  be  an  awkward  feat  to  accomplish,  and  might 
easily  result  in  a  broken  limb  or  a  sea-water  bath,  but  to  our 
pilot,  with  his  experience  and  coolness  and  strength  of  arm,  it 
appears  to  be  as  easy  as  "rolling  off  from  a  log."  He  descends 
the  rope-ladder  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  heaving  waters,  but 
is  in  no  hurry  to  let  go.  He  bides  his  time  until  a  wave  brings 
the  little  boat  up  to  the  proper  position  for  his  purpose,  when 
he  drops  lightly  down  and  in  a  twinkling  is  in  the  stern-sheets, 
with  his  hand  on  the  tiller.  His  cheery  voice  shouts,  "  Give 
way,  my  lads  !  "  and  the  oarsmen  row  him  quickly  away  from 
the  great  steamer. 

Now  the  captain  takes  charge,  and  our  course  is  laid  south, 
one  and  a  quarter  points  east,  which  course  we  will  continue 
to  hold  for  several  days  and  nights  till  we  approach  the  islands 
of  St.  Domingo  and  Porto  Rico,  between  which  we  are  to  sail, 
taking  care  to  avoid  two  smaller  islands  lying  between  these 
two  greater  ones  just  named,  and  which  are  called,  respec- 
tively, "  Mona  Island  "  and  "  Monita  Island  ;  "  that  is  to  say, 
"  Monkey  Island  "  and  "  Little  Monkey  Island." 

This  course  between  these  islands  is  designated  on  the 
charts  as  the  "  Mona  Passage,"  and  here  our  course  will  be 
changed  to  a  more  southerly  one,  and  we  will  enter  the 
Caribbean  Sea.  Thence  we  will  shape  our  course  a  little  west 
of  south  for  the  tropical  island  of  Curacao.  This  island  is  one 
of  that  great  group  that  come  under  the  general  name  of  the 
West  Indies,  but  it  is  more  particularly  known  as  one  of  the 


8  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

Caribbee  Islands.  It  also  belongs  to  that  group  known  as  the 
"Leeward"  Islands,  in  contradistinction  to  a  group  farther 
eastward,  known  as  the  "Windward"  Islands.  So  it  is  proper 
to  speak  of  Curacao  as  one  of  the  West  India  Islands,  or  as 
one  of  the  Carib  or  Caribbee  Islands,  or  as  one  of  the  Leeward 
Islands,  either  expression  being  correct. 

And  now,  while  we  are  bowling  along  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
or  thirteen  knots  an  hour,  I  will  bring  this  first  chapter  to  a 
close,  and  in  my  state-room  bed  shut  my  eyes  and  woo  the 
drowsy  god  of  sleep,  while  listening  to  the  waves  swashing 
against  our  steamer  as  she  proudly  plows  her  way  through 
them.  The  majesty  of  the  ocean  ceases  not  when  the  eye  is 
closed  upon  its  heaving  bosom.  The  rushing  sound  of  its 
many  waters,  when  the  head  is  on  the  pillow,  makes  its  im- 
press on  the  reflective  mind  as  deeply  as  to  gaze  on  its  restless 
billows. 

Here  is  a  beautiful  ode  to  the  Sea,  written  by  a  German 
poet : 

T  o    T  H  E    S  E  A. 

Thou  boundless,  shining,  glorious  Sea, 
With  ecstasy  I  gaze  on  thee  ; 
Joy,  joy  to  him  whose  early  beam 
Kisses  thy  lip,  bright  Ocean-stream  ! 

Thanks  for  the  thousand  hours,  old  Sea, 
Of  sweet  communion  held  with  thee  : 
Oft  as  I  gazed,  thy  billowy  roll 
Woke  the  deep  feelings  of  my  soul. 

Drunk  with  the  joy,  thou  deep-toned  Sea, 
My  spirit  swells  to  heaven  with  thee  ; 
Or,  sinking  with  thee,  seeks  the  gloom 
Of  nature's  deep,  mysterious  tomb. 

At  evening,  when  the  sun  grows  red. 
Descending  to  his  watery  bed, 
The  music  of  the  murmuring  deep 
Soothes  e'en  the  weary  earth  to  sleep. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN. 

Then  listens  thee  the  evening  star, 
So  sweetly  glancing  from  afar  ; 
And  Luna  hears  thee  when  she  breaks 
Her  light  in  million-colored  flakes. 

Oft  when  the  noonday  heat  is  o'er, 
I  seek  with  joy  the  breezy  shore. 
Sink  on  thy  boundless,  billowy  breast, 
And  cheer  me  with  refreshing  rest. 

The  poet,  child  of  heavenly  birth. 
Is  suckled  by  the  mother  earth  ; 
But  thy  blue  bosom,   holy  Sea, 
Cradles  his  infant  fantasy. 

The  old  blind  minstrel  on  the  shore 
Stood  listening  thy  eternal  roar. 
And  golden  ages,  long  gone  by. 
Swept  bright  before  his  spirit's  eye. 

On  wing  of  swan  the  holy  flame 
Of  melodies  celestial  came, 
And  Iliad  and  Odyssey 
Rose  to  the  music  of  the  Sea. 

— Frederick  Leopold,  Count  of  Stolberg. 


lO  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    11. 

At  Sea — Our  Steamer  and  Her  Officers. 

AS  I  commence  this  chapter  I  do  not  forget  that  a  great 
many  people  who,  in  these  days  of  comfortable  traveling 
facilities,  and  of  "  Cook's  Tours"  and  "  Raymond's  Excur- 
sions" to  all  parts  of  the  world,  are  familiar  with  the  aver- 
age ocean  steamer  and  its  characteristics.  To  these,  my 
account  of  the  steamer  "  Philadelphia,"  and  her  officers,  will 
doubtless  possess  but  little  interest.  But  I  also  reflect  that 
there  is  a  far  greater  proportion  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the 
details  of  the  construction  of  these  great  steamships  that  trans- 
port with  comfort  and  safety  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  the  members  of  the  human  family  to  all  parts  of  the  world, 
over  that  great,  free  and  universal  highway,  the  ocean. 

To  this  class  of  my  readers  I  will  give  a  few  items  of  the 
dimensions  and  construction  of  the  steamer  "  Philadelphia," 
of  the  Red  "  D "  Line,  plying  between  the  City  of  New 
York  and  Puerto  Cabello  and  La  Guayra  in  Venezuela,  also 
stopping  at  the  island  of  Curacao.  I  shall  also  venture  to  say 
something  of  her  officers. 

The  "  Philadelphia  "  was  built  by  William  Cramp  &  Sons,  of 
Philadelphia.  Her  length  over  all  is  283  feet  6  inches ;  length 
on  water  line,  270  feet  9  inches;  beam,  35  feet;  depth  of  hold 
to  main  deck,  20  feet  6  inches ;  depth  of  hold  to  upper  deck, 
28  feet  3  inches;  tonnage,  2,100  gross.  She  is  constructed  of 
iron.  Forward  are  the  anchors  and  chains,  anchor  crane 
with  attachments  and  capstan,  which  is  worked  from  steam 
windlass  below. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  I  I 

There  are  three  hatches  for  cargo,  each  provided  with  iron 
Tiatch  cover,  gummed  and  secured  with  strong  iron  dogs, 
making  them  absokitely  water-tight.  The  pilot-house  on  the 
upper  deck  is  provided  with  steam  steering-gear  of  the  most 
approved  style,  which  can  be  disconnected  should  it  be  desired, 
and  the  vessel  then  steered  by  hand.  In  addition,  she  is  also 
provided  with  a  wheel  aft. 

The  captain's  cabin,  aft  of  the  pilot-house,  is  finished  in  hard 
wood,  and  possesses  every  convenience  for  comfort.  First  and 
second  officers'  rooms  adjoin.  Following  these  are  two  state- 
rooms on  each  side,  abaft  of  which  is  a  stairway  leading  to  the 
main  deck.  Aft  of  the  after-hatch  is  a  deck-house,  containing 
the  social  hall,  with  main  entrance  to  saloon,  then  six  state- 
rooms, three  on  each  side,  and  after  these  a  large  and  comfort- 
able smoking-room.  She  is  provided  with  six  life-boats,  swung 
on  iron  frames  overhead,  so  as  to  allow  an  unobstructed  prom- 
enade on  the  upper  deck,  and  two  life-rafts  placed  on  the  roof 
of  the  deck-house.  Seats  are  fitted  along  the  rail  on  each  side 
from  the  pilot-house  aft. 

The  saloon  on  the  main  deck  extends  the  entire  width  of 
the  vessel,  thus  insuring  good  light  and  ventilation.  The 
dining  tables,  seven  in  number,  are  arranged  three  on  each 
side,  and  one  in  the  center,  those  on  the  side  being  placed 
athwartship,  thus  enabling  each  passenger  to  occupy  or  vacate 
his  seat  without  disturbing  others.  Handsome  sideboards  are 
placed  on  each  side.  Adjoining  the  dining-saloon  there  are 
nineteen  state-rooms,  which,  with  the  tier  on  the  upper  deck, 
accommodate  sixty-four  first-class  passengers.  In  the  rear  are 
ladies'  and  gentlemen's  toilet-rooms  and  two  bath-rooms.  The 
social  hall,  saloon  and  state-rooms  are  hard-wood  finish,  pannel- 
ling  of  mahogany,  oak  and  ash,  the  upholstery  being  of  plush. 
The  pantry  and  kitchen  are  fitted  with  steam  tables  and  all 
the  appliances  of  a  first-class  hotel.     The  officers'  quarters,  for 


12  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  engineers,^  stewards  and  purser,  are  on  the  main  deck,  with 
the  mail-room  adjoining  the  latter.  The  officers'  mess-room  is 
finished  in  hard  wood.  Ample  accommodations  are  provided 
for  second-class  passengers  and  crew,  also  for  ice-houses  and. 
store-rooms.  The  hold  is  divided  by  five  water-tight  bulk- 
heads. Each  compartment  is  ventilated  by  air  shafts  leading, 
to  the  interior  of  the  smoke-stack,  by  means  of  which  a  power- 
ful draught  is  created,  thereby  preventing  condensation  from, 
warm  air  in  coming  from  the  tropics. 

The  machinery  consists  of  a  vertical  compound  surface  con- 
densing engine,  with  cylinders  32  and  61  inches  diameter 
respectively,  stroke  3  feet.  The  engine  is  fitted  with  all  mod- 
ern improvements,  such  as  steam  reversing  gear,  governor, 
feed  water  heater,  filter,  etc.  Two  duplex  donkey  pumps  are 
conveniently  located,  with  connections  to  bilge,  sea  condenser,, 
boilers,  tanks  and  all  parts  of  the  vessel  for  fire-hose.  The 
boilers,  two  in  number,  are  made  of  extra  quality  tested  steel,. 
14  feet  in  diameter,  12%  feet  long;  each  has  three  furnaces. 
The  working  pressure  of  steam  is  ninety  pounds,  though  they 
were  tested  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  In  construc- 
tion, outfit  and  finish  this  ship  is  a  first-class  specimen  of 
American  marine  architecture,  and  rates  100  Ai  XX  for 
twenty  years  in  British  Lloyd's. 

Her  officers  are  as  follows : 

Commander, Capt.  Samuel  Hess. 

First  Officer William  A.  Wilkinson. 

Second  Officer, John  Skellino. 

Chief  Engineer, George  W.  Campbell. 

Purser,        William  Howe. 

Steward, John  Hardy. 

Besides  these  there  are  two  assistant  engineers,  three  oilers, 
seven  firemen,  three  coal  passers,  two  quartermasters,  one 
boatswain,  one  carpenter,  six  able  seamen,  five  colored  deck- 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  1 3 

hands,  six  colored  table-waiters,  three  cooks,  one  pantry-man, 
one  messman,  one  porter,  and  last,  though  not  least,  one 
stewardess,  "  fair,  fat  and  forty,"  who  is  the  ministering  angel 
to  the  lady  passengers,  either  when  they  are  really  seasick, 
■or  merely  "afraid  they  are  going  to  be."  The  stereotyped 
smile  which  perpetually  illumines  her  "  seven-by-nine  "  coun- 
tenance, carries  assurance  and  sweet  hope  to  all  tremulous 
souls  who  dread  the  tribute  that  old  Neptune  sometimes 
demands  from  over-loaded  stomachs.  I  cannot  think  of 
omitting,  at  this  opportune  place,  that  old  familiar  tribute 
to  woman : 

"Oh,  woman,  in  our  hours  of    ease, 
Uncertain,  coy  and  hard  to  please, 

When  pain  and  anguish  wring  the  brow  ; 
A  ministering  angel  thou  !  " 

Capt.  Samuel  Hess  is  a  most  excellent  type  of  a  true 
American  sailor.  Born  in  Philadelphia  and  coming  from  good 
old  Quaker  stock,  he  had  the  benefit  of  an  early  religious 
training  and  a  good  education.  But  he  was  bound  to  be  a 
sailor,  and  actually  went  to  sea  as  a  cabin-boy  before  he  was 
twelve  years  old  !  He  has  followed  the  sea  ever  since — a 
period  of  forty  years.  He  rapidly  rose  in  the  profession  and 
has  been  the  captain  of  many  vessels  and  sailed  to  nearly 
every  part  of  the  globe.  Bluff  and  hearty  in  manner,  rigid  in 
discipline,  though  kind-hearted  and  just,  he  is  always  a  gentle- 
man and  endears  himself  to  all  classes,  whether  they  are 
directly  under  his  authority  or  are  his  passengers.  Being  the 
senior  captain  in  this  line,  he  is  the  commodore  of  the  fleet, 
and  has  command  of  its  newest  and  finest  vessel. 

Captain  Hess  is  a  strictly  temperate  man  and  requires  that 
his  officers  shall,  while  on  duty,  be  the  same.  It  is  such  men 
as  Captain  Hess  that  we  pin  our  faith  to  when  we  embark  on 
a  voyage  which  may  be  fraught  with  danger,  requiring  the 
best  seamanship,  long  experience,  cool  judgment  and  unclouded 


14  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

brain,  undaunted  courage,  unflagging  watchfulness  and  great 
physical  endurance. 

When  I  doff  my  clothes,  and,  donning  my  robe  de  nuit,  lie 
down  to  pleasant  slumbers  in  my  little  bed,  I  feel  that  I  am 
safe,  not  only  in  the  general  Providential  care  that  is  over  us  all 
during  the  silent  watches  of  the  night,  but  also  in  that  special 
providence  which  I  feel  is  guarding  me  in  the  person  of  our 
most  excellent  and  watchful  commander. 

I  have  said  that  Captain  Hess  has  followed  the  sea  for  forty 
years,  but  this  is  not  strictly  correct,  for  there  was  an  interval 
of  eight  months  during  the  year  1865  that  he  followed  some- 
thine  else  more  treacherous  even  than  the  ocean.  How  I  came 
to  know  it  is  as  follows :  When  I  was  first  introduced  to  him 
he  asked  me  where  I  was  from.    I  told  him  from  Pennsylvania. 

"What  part  of  Pennsylvania?" 

"  From  that  part  called  the  Oil  Regions." 

"  From  the  Oil  Regions,  eh  !  " 

A  feeble  smile  played  around  the  corners  of  the  captain's 
mouth  as  he  made  this  last  remark,  and  I  immediately  knew 
that  he  was  one  of  that  innumerable  army  who,  in  the  early 
days  of  the  history  of  Petroleum,  had  "  been  there,"  and  had 
put  much  more  money  in  the  ground  than  they  had  ever 
taken  out.  Oh,  I  meet  them  all  over,  in  Mexico,  on  the 
Pacific  Slope,  in  Cuba,  in  Florida,  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  in 
the  Lake  Superior  region,  and  on  the  bosom  of  the  broad 
Atlantic. 

The  captain's  experience  was  no  exception  to  the  general 
rule.  He  came,  he  saw,  but  he  didn't  conquer!  An  contraire, 
he  dropped  a  few  thousands  in  a  few  months  and  then 
returned  complacently  to  his  vocation,  "  sailing  the  ocean 
blue,"  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened  ! 

He  laughs  over  the  episode,  just  as  I  find  all  sensible  men 
do  after  a  lapse  of  twenty  years,  when  Time,  the  great  healer. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  I  5 

has  assuaged  the  grief,  and  Dame  Fortune  has,  in  other  and 
more  certain  channels,  compensated  for  the  losses  that  inex- 
perience and  mistaken  zeal  in  their  calculation  of  an  "unknown 
quantity"  brought  upon  them. 

Captain  Hess'  first  officer,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  is  also  a  life-long 
sailor.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  town  of  Bristol, 
and  has  had  a  wide  and  eventful  experience  on  the  ocean. 
He  cannot  be  called  a  handsome  man,  and  yet  he  is  not 
homely  enough  to  stop  a  clock!  What  he  lacks  in  beauty  he 
more  than  makes  up  in  pleasing  manners,  and  is  a  general 
favorite  with  all  the  passengers.  To  him  I  am  indebted  for 
much  information,  which  I  hope  will  be  interesting  to  my 
readers. 

In  thinking  of  the  invariable  politeness  of  all  the  officers  of 
this  ship,  I  cannot  help  saying  to  myself,  "  Like  master,  like 
man,"  for  when  I  went  to  the  office  of  the  owners  of  this  line, 
Messrs.  Boulton,  Bliss  &  Dallett,  No.  71  Wall  street,  to  pro- 
cure my  state-room,  I  was  treated  with  the  utmost  courtesy 
and  kindness.  All  inquiries  were  cordially  answered  and  many 
things  suggested  that  would  tend  to  make  the  voyage  more 
thoroughly  enjoyable  and  satisfactory. 

How  different  is  this  from  the  crusty  manners  assumed  by 
many  officials  clothed  in  a  little  brief  authority!  How  often 
have  I  been  made  to  feel  like  a  detected  pickpocket  when 
making  a  polite  inquiry  of  some  of  these  offensive  clerks  and 
agents!  Oh,  when  they  come  to  receive  their  final  reward 
for  all  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  may  it  be  their  doom  to 
be  perpetually  snubbed  by  all  the  dirty  little  imps  of  Hades! 

This  is  our  second  day  out  of  New  York.  The  skies  con- 
tinue clear  and  cloudless,  and  the  air  is  so  soft  and  balmy  that 
we  are  sitting  about  the  decks  without  overcoats  and  feeling 
thoroughly  comfortable.  In  the  evening  the  moon,  "  pale 
empress  of   the   night,"   rides  high   in   the  heavens,  and   the 


1 6  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

sweet  glimmer  of  the  stars  upon  the  water's  wide  expanse, 
make  a  scene  of  loveliness,  as  well  as  grandeur,  and  I  sit  in 
my  steamer  chair  gazing  and  dreaming  long  after  the  other 
passengers  have  gone  to  rest.  I  recall  the  words  of  Lorenzo 
and  Jessica  at  Belmont  : 

The  moon  shines  bright :     In  such  a  night  as  this, 
When  the  sweet  wind  did  gently  kiss  the  trees, 
And  they  did  make  no  noise  ;    in  such  a  night, 
Troilus,   methinks,  mounted  the  Trojan  walls, 
And  sigh'd   his  soul  toward  the  Grecian  tents, 
Where  Cressid  lay  that  night. 

In  such  a  night, 
Did  Thisbe  fearfully  o'ertrip  the  dew, 
And  saw  the  lion's  shadow  ere  himself. 
And  ran  dismay'd  away. 

In  such  a  night. 
Stood  Dido,  with  a  willow  in  her  hand. 
Upon  the  wild  sea-banks,  and  waved  her  love 
To  come  again  to  Carthage. 

In  such  a  night, 
Medea  gather'd  the  enchanted  herbs. 
That  did  renew  old  ^-lison. 

In  such  a  night. 
Did  Jessica  steal  from  the  wealthy  Jew, 
And  with  an  unthrift  love  did  run  from  Venice, 
As  far  as  Belmont. 

And  in  such  a  night. 
Did  young  Lorenzo  swear  he  loved  her  well, 
Stealing  her  soul  with  many  vows  of  faith. 
And  ne'er  a  true  one. 

And  in  such  a  night, 
Did  pretty  Jessica,  like  a  little  shrew, 
Slander  her  love,   and  he  forgave  it  her. 

—  Shakespeare. 


/ 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARHJEEAN.  I  7 


CHAPTER    III. 

Lost  at  Sea — And  Some  of  My  Fellow-Travelers. 

"A /"ES,"  said  Mr.  Wilkinson,  one  night  as  I  paced  the  deck 
-L  with  him  during  his  watch,  "you  may  well  say  that  a 
sailor's  life  is  one  of  hardship  and  peril.  I  read  in  the  Good 
Book  that  when  David  was  beset  on  all  sides  by  the  soldiers  of 
King  Saul  who  sought  to  take  his  life,  he  said  to  Jonathan, 
'  Surely,  there  is  but  a  step  between  me  and  death,'  and  I 
think  how  true  this  is  of  every  sailor's  life  !  A  single  misstep 
may  at  any  time  plunge  him  into  the  relentless  ocean,  or  fling 
him  from  the  giddy  mast  to  an  almost  certain  death  on  the 
deck  below.  Yes,  as  you  say,  our  life  is  often  held  by  a  single 
thread,  and,  as  an  illustration  of  this,  I  must  tell  you  of  a 
tragic  incident  that  I  witnessed  once  on  shipboard. 

"  It  was  about  twelve  years  ago,"  continued  the  chief  officer, 
"  when  I  was  on  the  steamship  '  Pennsylvania,'  of  the  Amer- 
ican Line,  plying  between  Philadelphia  and  Liverpool.  Old 
Captain  Thomas  Harris  was  her  commander,  a  bluff  old  sea- 
dog,  but  as  big-hearted  a  man  as  I  ever  knew.  When  he  died 
a  few  years  ago  that  line  lost  its  best  captain.  But,  as  I  was 
saying,  it  was  on  the  '  Pennsylvania '  on  an  outward  voyage  in 
June,  the  third  day  out,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  '  Banks,' 
we  were  running  along  with  a  fine  breeze  from  the  westward, 
with  all  sails  set,  and  making  twelve  to  thirteen  knots  an  hour. 
It  was  my  watch  on  deck,  but  I  had  gone  below  to  work  up 
my  reckoning,  when  suddenly  the  engine  gong  struck  the 
signal  to  stop  the  ship.     I  ran   up  the  companion-way  bare- 


1,8  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

headed  as  the  cry  of  '  Man  overboard ! '  rang  in  my  ears.  I 
shouted,  '  Clear  away  the  starboard  forward  boat,'  and  it  took 
but  a  moment  or  two  to  do  so,  and,  as  it  was  being  lowered,  I 
and  the  crew  of  six  leaped  in.  By  this  time  the  engine  was 
backing,  although  the  steamer  was  still  forging  ahead  quite 
rapidly. 

"  As  the  boat  struck  the  water  we  unhooked  the  falls,  and 
Captain  Harris,  who  was  on  the  bridge,  shouted  to  me,  *  There 
he  is,  Wilkinson,'  pointing  in  the  direction  of  where  the  poor 
fellow  was  fighting  against  his  fate.  As  I  stood  up  in  the 
stern  of  the  boat  with  my  hand  on  the  tiller,  I  could  see,  as 
the  boat  rose  on  the  huge  waves,  the  poor  man  away  off  to  the 
leeward,  struggling  in  the  waves,  and  a  number  of  sea-birds 
circling  about  him.  My  men,  you  may  be  sure,  pulled  with  a 
will,  and  soon  we  came  to  the  spot  to  find  only  the  man's  hat, 
he  having  sunk  beneath  the  waves  and  was  seen  no  more  ! 

"We  rowed  all  about  for  a  half  an  hour  or  more  and  then 
returned  sorrowfully  to  the  ship.  Not  till  we  were  again  on 
board  did  I  know  who  the  poor  victim  was,  but  then  I  learned 
that  it  was  Henry  Hargrave,  one  of  our  able  seamen,  who  had 
shipped  with  us  for  the  first  time  a  few  days  before  at  Phila- 
delphia, having  but  just  returned  from  a  voyage  to  the  East 
Indies.  The  way  the  accident  happened,  was  like  this:  He 
was  standing  on  the  rail  of  the  deck,  reaching  up  and  lacing 
the  canvas  cover  on  one  of  the  life-boats,  which  was  in  the 
davits  and  chocks  just  above  his  head.  In  pulling  one  of  the 
laces  it  broke,  and  the  poor  fellow,  losing  his  balance,  fell 
backward  into  the  sea. 

"  Of  course  the  occurrence  cast  a  gloom  over  the  ship  for  a 
day  or  two,  but  on  a  large  steamer  with  a  crew  of  an  hundred 
men,  and  with  several  hundred  passengers,  such  things  are 
soon  forgotten.  So,  you  see,  this  sailor's  life  actually  hung  on 
a  single  thread,  and  the  thread  broke! 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  19 

"  But  now  I  must  tell  you  what  to  me  was  the  hardest  part 
of  the  whole  affair.  When  we  got  back  to  Philadelphia,  and 
the  ship  was  made  fast  to  the  dock,  I  hurried  on  shore  to  see 
my  family.  At  the  big  gate  going  off  from  the  dock  I  was 
accosted  by  a  young  girl  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age, 
who  was  accompanied  by  an  old  and  feeble-looking  man.  She 
said  to  me,  in  a  very  pleasant  voice,  '  Do  you  belong  on  the 
steamer  '  Pennsylvania'  ?  ' 

"  I  said,  '  Yes,  Miss,  what  do  you  want  ? ' 

"  She  replied,  '  My  brother  is  a  sailor  on  that  ship,  and  just 
before  he  sailed  on  her  he  wrote  to  us  that  when  he  came  back 
he  would  come  home.  We  have  not  seen  him  for  nine  years. 
We  live  in  Cincinnati,  and  we  have  come  up  here  to  meet  him 
and  take  him  home  with  us.' 

"  I  said,  '  What  is  your  brother's  name  ?  ' 

"  She  replied,  '  Henry  Hargrave.' 

"  The  cold  chills  ran  up  and  down  my  back,  and  I  knew  not 
what  to  say.  I  finally  stammered  out  that  there  was  no  one 
by  that  name  that  came  back  with  us,  but  that  I  would  go  on 
board  and  make  inquiries  and  come  and  tell  them.  As  I 
reached  the  ship  I  met  Captain  Harris  going  ashore,  and 
related  to  him  what  had  just  taken  place. 

"  He  said  to  me,  '  I  can't  bear  to  tell  them,  Mr.  Wilkinson,, 
and  you  will  have  to  attend  to  it  for  me.  Tell  them  that  we 
left  him  very  sick  in  the  hospital  at  Liverpool,  and  then  we 
can  write  and  tell  them  the  truth  afterward.' 

"  So  I  had  to  go  back  and  deceive  them  (but,  as  I  thought, 
mercifully)  in  this  way.  I  found  that  the  mother  had  also 
come  up  from  Cincinnati  to  meet  her  sailor-boy,  and  was  then 
at  the  lodging-house  awaiting  his  footstep.  I  took  them  to  a 
more  respectable  lodging-house  than  they  had  been  taken  to 
by  a  runner,  and  advised  them  to  start  for  home  as  soon  as. 
possible,  promising  to  write  to  them  as  soon  as  I  could  about 


20  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

their  son.  I  saw  them  safely  on  the  cars  the  next  day,  and 
they  went  back  home,  sorrowfully,  but  still  with  hope  that 
their  dear  boy  would  yet  come  home  to  them.  In  a  day  or 
two  I  wrote  them  a  long  letter,  telling  them  the  whole  truth, 
and  the  purser  sent  to  them  the  poor  fellow's  kit  and  what 
money  he  had  in  his  chest — not  much  was  it,  I  assure  you,  for 
poor  Jack  has  too  many  temptations,  and  is  too  free  with  his 
money  to  ever  save  up  much.  Well,  I  have  spun  you  a  long 
yarn,  and  now,  as  it  is  eight  bells,  I  will  turn  in  for  four  hours." 

The  state-room  next  to  mine,  on  the  upper  deck,  was 
occupied  by  Mr.  David  Logan,  a  Scotchman  of  the  most 
pronounced  type.  He  has  been  a  great  traveler  and  there 
are  probably  but  few  men  that  have  had  as  many  peculiar 
and  interesting  experiences  as  he.  I  have  sat  for  hours  and 
listened  to  his  adventures  in  many  lands,  while  pursuing  his 
vocation  as  a  naturalist.  He  is  forty-six  years  of  age,  was 
born  in  Paisley,  Scotland,  and  came  to  America  in  1852.  In 
the  year  1861  he  started  for  the  West  Indies,  and,  after 
visiting  many  of  these  islands,  and  making  large  collections  of 
insects,  butterflies  and  orchids,  he  went  to  Central  America 
and  Honduras,  and  then  to  Old  Mexico.  He  was  gone  on 
this  trip  nine  years.  He  then  went  to  Africa,  and  among  the 
collections  he  made  there,  was  a  giant  or  Goliath  beetle,  a 
rare  specimen,  for  which  he  received  twenty  pounds,  or,  in 
our  money,  one  hundred  dollars.  His  sales  of  specimens  are 
generally  made  to  the  museums  of  England,  they  paying  far 
better  prices  than  museums  or  collectors  in  this  country. 

After  his  trip  to  Africa,  he  again  went  to  Central  America, 
and  while  there  visited  the  remarkable  and  prehistoric  ruins 
in  Yucatan  ;  his  descriptions  of  which  are  exceedingly  inter- 
esting. Mr.  Logan  is  now  on  his  way  to  Venezuela,  which 
country  he  will  certainly  exhaust  of  beetles  and  all  other 
insects,  butterflies,  and  orchids — or,  at  least,  two  or  three  good 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  2  1 

specimens  of  each  variety.  Mr.  Logan  says  that  he  has  a 
standing  offer  of  three  thousand  dollars  for  one  particular 
variety  of  orchid,  and  he  has  great  hopes  that  it  is  to  be  found 
in  Venezuela. 

Another  of  my  fellow-voyagers  was  Mr.  Angell  of  New 
York,  a  young  man  engaged  in  mercantile  business  although  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College.  He,  like  myself,  is  traveling  for 
pleasure,  and  will  make  the  round  trip  on  this  steamer.  He 
is  an  amateur  entomologist,  and  so  is  Mr.  Henry  F.  Rudloff, 
a  German  resilient  of  Venezuela,  who  is  a  civil  engineer,  and 
is  now  returning  on  this  steamer  from  a  business  visit  to  New 
York.  A  naturalist  and  two  entomologists  meeting  on  a 
steamer  by  mere  chance,  among  a  passenger  list  of  only 
twenty,  is  quite  a  coincidence.  It  was  a  picnic  to  hear  them 
talk  bugs ! 

Among  our  passengers  was  a  Spanish  student  returning  from 
some  college  in  the  United  States,  to  his  home  in  the  city  of 
Caracas,  the  capital  of  Venezuela.  Also  another  Spanish 
gentleman  who,  with  his  wife  and  sister-in-law,  was  returning 
to  Venezuela  from  an  extended  tour  through  our  country. 

Then  there  were  Mr.  H.  T.  Livingston,  an  old  retired  mer- 
chant of  New  York  City,  a  courtly  gentleman,  and  his  son, 
a  young  man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  who  were  seeking 
a  change  of  climate  for  the  benefit  of  their  health.  Another 
pleasant  traveler  was  a  Mr.  Davis,  an  American,  who  has 
large  mining  interests  in  Venezuela.  We  had  but  five  lady 
passengers,  and  one  of  these  was  Miss  N.  who,  with  her  father, 
was  going  to  Curacao  to  try  the  air  of  that  island  for  some 
lung  trouble.  Miss  N.  is  a  good  musician,  and  after  recovering 
from  the  effects  of  a  slight  attack  of  seasickness,  she  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  enjoyment  of  our  outward  passage,  by 
singing  many  of  the  dear  old  songs  of  our  native  land,  and  on 
the  Sabbath  leading  us  with  voice  and  piano  in  the  familiar 


2  2  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

hymns  in  which  all  citizens  of  a  Christian  land  have  a  common 
interest,  and  in  the  singing  of  which  I  have  always  found 
brings  together  almost  immediately,  and  in  a  most  friendly 
manner,    all    American    travelers. 

There  was  but  one  other  passenger  whom  I  will  mention 
particularly.  About  a  half  an  hour  before  our  steamer  left 
her  dock,  as  I  stood  watching  the  passengers  as  they  came  on 
board,  a  carriage  drove  up  and  a  young  man  was  helped  out 
by  the  driver.  A  lady  was  in  the  carriage  and  the  young 
man  kissed  her  good-by  through  the  door,  as  she  did  not 
alight.  He  wore  a  long  English  ulster  which  came  down 
nearly  to  his  feet,  and  his  neck  and  face  were  closely  muffled 
up  with  a  shawl,  although  the  day  was  warm.  His  trunk  and 
satchel  were  taken  by  the  porter  to  a  state-room  on  deck,  the 
second  one  from  mine,  and  he  slowly  followed.  He  had  his 
dinner  brought  to  his  state-room  and  I  saw  no  more  of  him 
until  the  next  morning.  I  then  saluted  him  and  asked  how 
he  had  passed  the  night.  He  replied  in  a  whisper  that  he 
had  not  slept  so  well  in  two  months  and  then  explained,  very 
briefly,  that  he  had  lost  his  voice  and  he  was  going  to  the 
equator,  if  necessary,  to  try  and  find  it.  I  expressed  my 
s}'mpathy,  which  was  the  more  sincere  as  I  had  myself  met 
with  the  same  misfortune  about  twenty-five  years  ago.  I  told 
him  not  to  try  to  talk,  but  that  I  would  talk  to  him  and  would 
not  expect  any  reply  that  would  require  him  to  use  his  vocal 
powers.  I  then  related  to  him  my  experience  and  predicted 
that  in  his  case,  as  it  had  occurred  in  mine,  the  voice  would 
come  back  when  he  had  been  in  a  very  hot  climate  a  few 
days. 

His  name,  as  I  learned  from  the  purser,  was  Morrison,  but 
■who  he  was,  or  what  his  business,  no  one  had  any  idea.  A 
more  silent  man  I  never  met  and  he  seemed  to  shun  every  one 
except   myself.     He   endured   me,  at  any  rate,  with  patience, 


THIRTY    DAYS    OX     THE    CARH5BEAN.  23 

and  I  continued  to  hold  a  very  one-sided  conversation  with 
him  at  intervals  for  several  days.  On  Sunday  he  came  for 
the  first  time  into  the  Social  Hall  and  listened  attentively  to 
the  hymns  we  sung,  led  by  Miss  N. 

On  Monday  morning  he  returned  my  greeting  with  a 
decided  smile,  and  I  told  him  that  he  was  looking  much 
better,  and  that  I  expected  to  hear  his  voice  by  the  time  we 
reached  Curacao.  This  is 'pronounced  "  Cure-a-so,"  with  the 
accent  on  the  last  syllable,  and  he  said  he  hoped  it  would  also 
"  cure  a  cold." 

This  feeble  attempt  at  wit  encouraged  me  to  ask  him  if  he 
could  not  help  me  by  and  by  to  bring  out  a  little  more  talent 
in  our  passenger  list.  He  made  no  response,  but  having  "put 
m}'  foot  in  it,"  I  proceeded  to  ask  him  if  he  had  any  knowl- 
edge of  music,  and  he  replied  "a  little."  I  suggested,  inquir- 
ingly, that  perhaps  he  played  on  some  instrument  and  he  said 
he  used  to  play  the  banjo  slightly.  I  soon  took  occasion 
to  inquire  of  the  steward  if  any  of  the  colored  waiters  had  a 
banjo,  and  he  said  that  one  of  them  had.  I  hunted  it  up  and 
had  it  made  ready  for  use  that  evening. 

After  dinner  at  6  P.  M.,  the  captain,  who,  by  conversation, 
we  had  ascertained  was  what  he  styled  a  "  salt-water  astrono- 
mer," consented  to  give  us  a  little  talk  about  the  stars.  It 
was  a  most  lovely  night,  and  we  all  sat  in  a  circle  on  the  deck 
while  Captain  Hess,  in  a  most  interesting  manner,  pointed  out 
to  us  the  stars  and  constellations,  and  the  Southern  Cross 
and  the  "  false  cross,"  and  in  a  very  unassuming  manner  dis- 
played a  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies  that  astonished  us. 
Mr.  Morrison,  at  my  urgent  solicitation,  had  joined  us,  and  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  lecture  I  quietly  placed  the  banjo  across 
his  knees  and  rather  anxiously  awaited  the  result.  He  looked 
up  at  me  reproachfully  but  took  up  the  instrument  and  tried 
its  tone.     In  a  moment  he  had  it  tuned  and  then  he  pla}-ed  it 


24  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

in  a  masterly  manner.  His  auditors  were  so  delighted  that  he 
was  kept  playing  for  nearly  an  hour,  and  it  was  unanimously 
voted  that  a  new  era  of  enjoyment  had  begun. 

I  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  again  to  Mr.  Morrison,  and  will 
only  add  at  this  time  that  he  soon  got  over  the  blues,  and 
when  his  voice  did  come  to  him  a  few  days  after  this,  he  used 
it  to  our  great  amusement  in  singing  some  of  the  most  rollick- 
ing and  enjoyable  songs  that  I  ever  listened  to. 

On  Saturday  morning,  March  5th,  the  weather  still  being 
perfectly  beautiful,  we  saw  for  the  first  time  since  leaving 
Sandy  Hook,  a  vessel  on  our  starboard  bow.  Here  we  are 
nearly  nine  hundred  miles  from  New  York,  and  until  now  have 
not  seen  a  single  vessel !  Does  not  this  give  one  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  immensity  of  the  ocean?  To  be  sure  our  course 
is  rather  out  from  the  usual  course  of  steamers  and  sailing 
vessels  to  the  southern  ports.  But  here  away  off  to  the  west- 
ward we  now  plainly  see  a  full-rigged  ship.  She  shows  up 
beautifully  through  the  spy-glass,  and  one  of  our  passengers 
pronounces  her  to  be  a  United  States  man-of-war— one  of  the 
school  or  training-ships,  that  are  cruising  in  these  waters. 
Soon  two  other  sails  are  descried  right  ahead  of  us  and  two 
more  on  the  port  bow,  making  five  in  all  for  us  to  look  at 
through  the  spy-glasses  and  field-glasses. 

About  this  time  the  captain  succeeds,  with  a  line  and  large 
hooks,  in  pulling  on  board  a  fragment  of  a  sea-plant  or  weed 
on  which  the  little  white  coral  insect  is  plainly  seen  with  the 

naked  eye. 

Now  the  great  full-rigged  ship  passes  down  the  horizon 
almost  out  of  sight,  and  the  captain  says  she  is  but  a  merchant 
ship  and  not  a  man-of-war.  Then  sail  along  within  a  mile  of 
us  a  three-masted  schooner  and  two  barks,  all  bound,  we 
presume,  for  North  America,  under  a  fine  northeast  breeze. 
On  one  of  the  barks  I  counted  twenty  sails  all  set  and  full  of 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  25 

wind.  Where  these  beautiful  white-winged  ships  are  from,  or 
whither  bound,  are  matters  of  pure  conjecture.  I  am  reminded 
of  T.Buchanan  Read's  beautiful  poem  called  "Drifting,"  a 
verse  or  two  of  which  read  thus: 

Yon  deep  bark  goes 

Where  traffic  blows, 

From  lands  of  sun  to  lands  of  snows; — 

This  happier  one, 

Its  course  is  run 

From  lands  of  snows  to  lands  of  sun. 

O,   happy  ship, 

To  rise  and  dip. 

With  the  blue  crystal  at  your  lip  ! 

O,  happy  crew. 

My  heart,  with  you 

Sails,  and  sails,  and  sings  anew  ! 

No  more,  no  more 

The  worldly  shore 

Upbraids  me  with  its  loud  uproar  ! 

With  dreamful  eyes 

My  spirit  lies 

Under  the  walls  of  Paradise  ! 

Our  ship  is  steaming  along,  assisted  by  her  sails  filled  with  a 
light  breeze  from  the  northeast.  Her  sails  consist  of  a  fore- 
sail or  spenser,  gaff-top  sail,  fore-stay  sail,  jib,  main-stay  sail, 
and  maintop-mast-stay  sail. 

Captain  Hess  has  just  told  me  that  we  now  begin  to  feel  the 
trade-winds.  He  detects  them  by  the  long  gentle  swell  coming 
toward  us  from  the  southeast,  and  by  the  light  fleecy  clouds 
off  to  the  east  and  southeast.  These  trade-winds  sometimes 
develop  into  a  first-class  hurricane,  but  not  usually  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  May  we  be  spared — for  in  my  enthusiasm 
for  ocean  experience  I  think  I  will  draw  the  line  at  hurricanes! 


26  'THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

On    the    Caribbean    Sea. 

"  Behold  the  sea, 
The  opaUne,   the  plentiful  and  strong, 
Yet  beautiful  as  is  the  rose  in  June, 
Fresh  as  the  dewy  rainbow  in  July  ; 
Sea  full  of  food,  the  nourisher  of  kinds  ; 
Purger  of    earth,   and  medicine  of    men  !  " 

CAN  I  ever  forget  those  beautiful  days  and  magnificent 
nights  on  the  Caribbean  Sea  !  By  the  time  that  we 
entered  it,  through  the  Mona  Passage,  we  had  all  become  as 
well  acquainted  as  if  we  had  been  neighbors  for  years.  The 
dolce  far  niente  of  an  ocean  voyage,  over  a  lovely  summer  sea, 
is  to  me  the  most  delightful  experience  to  be  had  in  this 
sublunary  sphere.  On  such  a  voyage  every  one  appears  at  his 
best.  The  invigorating  air  seems  not  only  to  fill  the  lungs 
with  a  new  lease  of  life,  and  the  whole  body  with  a  keen 
physical  enjoyment,  but  also  fills  the  heart  with  good  impulses 
and  kindly  feelings  toward  those  around  you.  It  inspires  you 
with  noble  thoughts  and  takes  away,  at  least  for  the  nonce, 
all  selfishness,  all  pride,  all  animosity — and  you  thank  God 
that  you  are  one  of  His  creatures  and  have  the  faculty  of 
thought,  and  can  enjoy  His  beautiful  ocean,  not  only  with  two 
or  three  of  your  five  senses,  but  with  your  soul !  Such  is  the 
broad,  beneficent  influence  of  the  ocean!  It  exhilarates,  it 
sharpens  the  appetite,   it   makes  you    feel    young   again,   and 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  27 

strong,  and  amiable,  and  honest,  and  loving,  and  a  little 
religious  withal  ! 

We  watched  the  sun  as  it  went  down  into  the  sea,  bathed 
in  a  splendor  impossible  to  imitate  on  canvas  or  describe  with 
language.  Not  less  beautiful  is  the  glorious  rising  of  the 
great  orb  in  the  sweet  cool  morning,  and  he  who  would  not 
leave  his  state-room  to  witness  this  entrancing  sight,  is  like 
the  man  who,  unmoved  by  music  and  the  concord  of  sweet 
sounds,  is  not  to  be  trusted,  but  is  fit  only  for  treason, 
stratagem  and  spoils. 

One  night  as  we  sat  on  the  deck,  watching  the  moonbeams 
as  they  played  over  the  quiet  sea,  a  sweet  voice,  that  we  had 
all  learned  to  love,  sang  to  us  that  exquisite  "  Evening  Song 
to  the  Virgin."  We  had  even  before  this  been  rather  quiet, 
for  the  scene  was  one  that  inspired  thought  and  repressed 
conversation — and  now  this  sweet  hymn,  with  its  holy  senti- 
ment so  appropriate  to  such  an  hour,  made  a  deep  impression 
on  all  who  heard  it,  and  as  we  separated  for  the  night,  very 
quietly,  it  seemed  as  if  the  "Adieus"  and  "Good-nights" 
were  given  \\'ith  a  heartiness  that  bespoke  a  deeper  feeling 
than  the  ordinary  parting  word  betrays. 

Evening    Song    to    the    Virgin. 

"Ave  sanctissivia,  we  lift  our  souls  to  thee; 
Ora  p}V  nobis,   'tis  nightfall  on  the  sea. 
^Vatch  us  while  shadows  lie 
Far  o'er  the  water  spread, 
Hear  the  heart's  lonely  sigh, 

Thine,  too,  hath  bled. 
Thou  that  hast  looked  on  death, 

Aid  us  when  death  is  near  ; 
^Vhisper  of  heav'n  to  faith, 

Sweet  Mother,  sweet  Mother,  hear  ! 
Ora  pro  nobis,  the  waves  must  rock  our  sleep, 
Ora,   illater,  oj-a.   Star  of  the  deep  I 


28  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

"Ave  sanctissinia,  we  lift  our  souls  to  thee  ; 
Ora  pro  nobis,   'tis   nightfall  on  the  sea. 
Oh,  thou  whose  virtues  shine 

With  brightest  purity, 
Come,  and  each  thought  refine, 

Till  pure  like  thee. 
Oh,  save  our  souls  from  ill; 

Guard  thou  our  lives  from  fear ; 
Our  hearts  with  pleasure  fill : 

Sweet  Mother,  sweet   Mother,  hear. 
Oi'a  pro  nobis,  the  waves  must  rock  our  sleep, 
Ora,  Mater,  ora.  Star  of  the  deep  !  " 


I  seldom  retired  to  my  state-room  before  midnight.  I  pre- 
ferred rather  to  pace  the  deck  with  one  of  the  officers,  or 
lolling  back  in  my  steamer  chair  and  gazing  upon  the  waters — 
sometimes  silvery  in  the  radiance  of  the  moon,  and  at  other 
times  gleaming  and  shining  with  a  phosphorescent  light — 
give  rein  to  my  thoughts.  Ah,  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole 
did  they  always  turn  lovingly  to  my  native  land,  and  to  that 
one  little  spot  in  the  great  world  that  is  known  and  cherished 
by  all  loving  hearts  under  the  sweet  appellation  of  Home. 

When    the    Sun    Sinks   to    Rest. 

"When  the  sun  sinks  to  rest, 

And  the  star  of  the  west 
Sheds  its  soft  silver  light  o'er  the  sea  ; 

What  sweet  thoughts  arise, 

As  the  dim  twilight  dies — 
For  then  I  am  thinking  of  thee  ! 

"Oh!  then  crowding  fast 

Come  the  joys  of  the  past, 
Through  the  dimness  of  days  long  gone  by. 

Like  the  stars  peeping  out. 

Through  the  darkness  about. 
From  the  soft  silent  depth  of  the  sky. 


■THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  29 

"And  thus,  as  the  night 

Grows  more  lovely  and  bright 
With  the  clustering  of  planet  and  star, 

So  this  darkness  of  mine 

Wins  a  radiance  divine 
From  the  light  that  still   lingers  afar. 


"  Then  welcome  the  night, 

With  its  soft  holy  light  1 
In  its  silence  my  heart  is  more  free 

The  rude  world  to  forget. 

Where  no  pleasure  I've  met 
Since  the  hour  that  I  parted  from  thee.  " 

But  I  must  relate  a  little  yarn  that  was  reeled  off  to  me  on 
•one  of  those  niehts  on  the   Caribbean  Sea  : 


A  Thrilling  Experienxe. 

"A  few  years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Wilkinson,  our  first  officer, 
•"  when  I  was  first  mate  of  the  bark  'Scud,'  on  a  voyage  from 
Philadelphia  to  La  Guayra,  we  were  sailing  along  about  three 
knots  an  hour  one  very  dark  night  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  with- 
in seventy-five  or  eighty  miles  of  the  Venezuelan  coast.  The 
weather  had  been  wet  and  nasty,  and  there  was  quite  a  sea 
running.  The  captain  said  he  guessed  he  would  go  below, 
and  I  went  down  with  him  to  light  my  pipe  to  keep  me  com- 
pany during  my  watch.  As  I  returned  on  deck  I  put  my  two 
hands  out  on  the  rail,  which  was  a  very  low  one,  not  over 
sixteen  inches  high,  to  peer  out  into  the  darkness.  Coming 
out  from  the  light  of  the  cabin  to  the  inky  blackness  of  the 
night,  I  thought  I  saw  a  light  off  to  the  leeward.  I  took  my 
hands  off  the  rail  and  drew  back  to  take  my  pipe  out  of  my 
mouth  to  take  another  look  from  a  standing  position.  Seeing 
nothing  I  stretched  my  hands  to  the  rail  to  resume  my  former 
position.     The  bark  at  that  moment  gave  a  sudden  lurch  and 


30  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

my  hands,  instead  of  grasping  the  rail,  went  over  it,  and,  my  feet 
sHpping  on  the  wet  deck  at  the  same  moment,  I  was  in  the 
twinkhng  of  an  eye  plunged  into  the  sea  !  As  soon  as  I  came 
to  the  surface  I  yelled  with  all  my  might,  '  Throw  me  a  rope.' 
Fortunately  the  man  at  the  wheel  heard  me,  and  putting  the 
helm  hard  down,  threw  the  bark  up  into  the  wind.  As  she 
forged  by  me  the  '  bumbkin,'  a  short  spar  over  the  quarter 
to  which  the  main  braces  are  led,  pitched,  in  the  rolling  of  the 
vessel,  so  near  me  that  I  grabbed  at  it,  but  only  touched  it 
with  my  fingers.  I  now  thought  quick  as  a  flash  of  a  new  cod 
line  that  I  had  baited  with  a  white  rag  and  thrown  over  during 
the  afternoon  with  the  hope  of  catching  a  fish.  I  said  to  my- 
self, '  Old  boy,  that  is  your  only  chance,'  and  struck  out 
across  the  wake  of  the  vessel,  throwing  my  arms  out  in  the 
hope  of  finding  that  line.  Sure  enough  I  struck  it,  but  not 
with  my  hands  but  with  my  neck,  and  grasping  it  I  again  hal- 
looed for  a  rope.  In  a  minute  more  I  felt  a  rope  floating 
against  me,  and,  taking  two  or  three  turns  of  it  around  my 
body  under  my  arms,  I  sang  out,  '  Haul  in.'  This  they  did 
with  a  will,  and  soon  I  was  safe  again  on  the  deck  of  the  bark. 

"  The  captain's  nerves  were  completely  unstrung,  and  as  he 
put  his  hands  over  my  shoulders  in  a  sort  of  an  embrace,  he 
said,  '  My  God,  Wilkinson,  if  we  had  lost  you  how  could  I 
have  ever  gone  home  and  told  your  old  woman  ? ' 

"Yes,  that  was  a  close  call,  and  my  danger  of  drowning  was 
no  greater  than  that  of  being  killed  by  one  of  the  man-eating 
sharks  of  which  the  Caribbean  Sea  is  full." 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  3 1 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Island  of  Curacao. 

AT  noon,  March  8th,  the  tropical  island  of  Curacao  was 
plainly  in  sight,  and  our  captain  assured  us  that  we 
should  enter  the  harbor  before  sunset.  The  rugged  coasts  are 
eagerly  scanned  through  our  spy-glasses,  and  about  four 
o'clock,  when  we  are  within  five  miles  of  the  harbor,  our  atten- 
tion is  directed  to  the  extensive  phosphate  works  of  an 
English  company  on  the  coast  side  of  a  mountain.  Ninety- 
seven  per  cent,  of  the  mountain  is  phosphate  of  lime,  and  the 
company  has  made  a  great  deal  of  money  in  mining  and 
exporting  it.  They  pay  a  royalty  to  the  Dutch  government 
on  the  production,  amounting  to  over  $200,000  per  year. 
Their  dock,  and  harbor,  and  buildings,  and  vessels,  and  the 
tramway  up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  are  plainly  seen  as  we 
steam  along  the  coast. 

A  little  further  on  we  have  a  fine  view  of  an  old  Spanish 
castle  on  the  cliffs  on  a  bay  called  Curacao  Bay,  or  "Spanish 
Water,"  at  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  beautiful  lagoons  with 
which  this  island  abounds.  This  castle  was  built  by  the  Span- 
iards in  the  year  1527. 

But  before  we  enter  the  harbor,  a  few  facts  concerning  the 
history  of  Curacoa  would  seem  to  be  the  proper  thing  to 
relate,  but  as  statistics  are  invariably  stupid,  I  will  endeavor  to 
give  the  necessary  data  as  briefly  as  possible. 

The  island  was  discovered  in  1499  by  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  and 
Americus  Vespucius.     It  was  held  by  the  Spanish  from    1527 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARH^BEAN.  2,3 

to  1634,  when  it  was  taken  from  them  by  the  Dutch.  It  is 
said  that  when  discovered  (and  afterward  settled)  by  the 
Spaniards,  the  island  was  inhabited  by  a  race  of  Indians  so 
noble  in  stature  that  they  were  called  giants,  all  being  over 
six  feet,  and  manj^  seven  feet  tall.  But  they  were  heathen  and 
cannibals,  and  the  Spaniards,  with  their  usual  happy  blending 
of  religion  and  murder,  proceeded  to  conquer  and  convert,  and  - 
after  making  them  kiss  the  true  cross,  they  massacred  them 
without  delay,  thus  simultaneously  punishing  them  for  eating 
human  flesh,  and  sending  them  joyfully  to  heaven.  It  is  two 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  years  since  the  bloody  flag  of  Spain 
waved  over  the  fair  island  of  Curacao,  but  she  left  her  relig- 
ious imprint  there,  and  to-day,  of  the  twenty-seven  thousand 
inhabitants,  more  than  twenty  thousand  are  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith. 

Then  the  island  was  held  by  the  Dutch  till  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  when  it  was  captured  by  the  British, 
was  restored  to  Holland  in  1802,  again  seized  by  England  in 
1807,  and  finally  given  up  to  the  Dutch  in  1816,  by  whom  it  is 
now  held  and  governed. 

It  is  situated  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  about  forty-two  miles 

from  the  north  coast  of  Venezuela,  and  is  about  forty-one  miles 

long  and  from  three  to  seven  miles  broad.     It  is  not  of  volcanic 

origin,  but,  judging  by  its  formation  and  other  circumstances, 

the  theory  is  that  it  formerly  was  part  of  the  South  American 

main-land.     The   exports   of  Curacao   are   phosphate  of  lime, 

salt,  divi-divi,  orange  peel,  wool,  hides,  skins,  aloes  and  peanuts. 

Its  population  is  about  27,000 — 7,000  white  and  20,000  colored 

and    black.      The  religious   proclivities  of   its   inhabitants  are 

exhibited  by  20,000  professing  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  4,500 

adhering    to    the    Reformed    Church    of    Holland,    and    2,500 

worshiping    under    the  old    Mosaic    form.      This,  perhaps,    is 

sufficient  to  relate  of  its  past  history,  size,  exports,  population 
3 


24  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

and  religion,  and  what  further  I  will  have  to  say  of  the  island 
will  be  a  relation  of  my  experience  while  there,  and  a  few 
desultory  remarks  on  the  impressions  received  by  what  I  saw 
and  heard. 

There  are  but  two  licensed  pilots  at  Curacao,  one  a  tall, 
venerable  old  man,  with  a  long  white  beard,  and  the  other  a 
coal-black  negro.  The  white  man  boarded  our  steamer  and 
took  us  through  the  narrow  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and,  while 
we  remained  in  Curacao,  I  could  not  help  noticing  that  even 
here,  where  the  colored  race  far  outnumber  the  white,  the 
Caucasian  still  holds  the  "bulge"  on  his  darker  brother,  for 
the  white  pilot  was  constantly  taking  in  and  out  the  big 
steamers,  while  the  other  had  to  be  content  with  the  lesser 
crafts  and  smaller  fees. 

On  either  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  are  the  frowning 
forts,  named,  respectively.  Fort  Amsterdam  and  Fort  Rif,  both 
built  by  the  Dutch  about  the  year  1635.  To  speak  of  a  fort 
without  prefixing  the  adjective  "  frowning"  would  be  in  bad 
form,  but  the  "  frown  "  that  these  two  poor  feeble  old  relics  of 
the  17th  century  assume  in  this  age  of  heavy  ordnance  is  laugh- 
able, indeed.  But  they  are  picturesque,  and  also  useful  to  a 
certain  degree,  because  they  furnish  a  sort  of  a  home  and 
employment  to  a  few  hundred  comically-dressed  and  stupid- 
looking  Dutch  soldiers,  and  there  is  a  gun  somewhere  in  one 
of  them  that  is  fired  off  at  sunrise,  at  noon,  at  sunset,  and  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Yes,  and  that  gun  is  also  fired 
off  "  semi-occasionally "  to  celebrate  and  give  publicity  to. 
another  event  of  great  importance  to  these  islanders.  Can 
you  guess  what  it  is?  As  I  am  sure  you  cannot,  I  will  not 
keep  you  in  suspense,  but  tell  you  at  once  that  it  is  dis- 
charged whenever  the  mail  is  distributed  and  ready  to  be 
delivered!  It  reminded  me  of  a  time  when  I  lived  in  a  town 
in   Indiana,   on  the  Wabash,  where  the  whole  population  had 


36  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  "fever  and  ague"  so  bad  that  the  town  bell  was  rung 
daily  at  stated  intervals  for  everybody  to  take  quinine  ! 

Adjoining  the  fort  on  the  right  as  you  enter  (which  is  Fort 
Amsterdam)  is  the  citadel,  which  is  quite  extensive  in  earth- 
works, and  having  a  large  parade-ground,  around  which  are 
the  barracks.  The  governor's  palace  is  also  located  here.  It 
is  a  large,  handsome  structure,  with  inviting  looking  balconies, 
and  plenty  of  trees  and  shrubbery  and  blooming  flowers  all 
about  it.  Quite  a  show  of  military  is  constantly  kept  up,  and 
the  guards  are  to  be  seen  in  every  direction  in  and  around  the 
fort  and  the  governor's  palace.  A  more  innocent  and  peaceful- 
looking  lot  of  soldiers,  however,  I  never  saw,  and  I  offered  to 
bet  a  box  of  cigars  with  one  of  my  fellow-travelers  that  none 
•of  their  guns  were  loaded. 

The  harbor  is  a  lagoon,  not  more  than  three  or  four  hundred 
feet  wide,  and  extends  into  the  island  about  three-quarters 
•of  a  mile  or  so,  where  it  widens  and 'forms  an  extensive  lake 
called  the  "  Schattegat."  The  tide  ebbs  and  flows  all  through 
this  deep  lagoon  into  the  Schattegat,  and  there  is  plenty  of 
water  for  several  miles  up  into  the  interior  of  the  island  for 
the  largest  vessels  in  the  world.  While  the  whole  of  this 
lagoon  (for  the  lake  and  all  is  but  a  lagoon)  may  properly  be 
called  the  harbor  of  Curacao,  and  a  most  completely  land- 
locked one  it  is,  yet  the  narrow  part  of  it,  extending  from 
Forts  Amsterdam  and  Rif,  to  where  it  widens  into  the  Schat- 
tegat, a  distance,  I  believe,  of  not  over  a  mile,  is  the  only  part 
that  is  used  as  the  harbor.  Here,  on  either  side,  the  steamers 
and  vessels  can  come  right  up  to  the  wharves. 

The  harbor  divides  the  town  in  two.  The  east  side  is  in 
three  divisions,  called,  respectively,  "  Wilhelmstadt,"  named 
after  one  of  the  five  princes  of  Orange,  "  Pietermaay "  and 
"Scharlo."  Across  the  lagoon  is  called  "  Otrabanda,"  which 
means  "other  side,"  and  here  our  steamer  came  to  her  wharf. 


uuir.H'.Lii.iimiiimiiiUiiiimluu.lim,^: 


38 


THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


The  chief  business  part  of  the  city  is  Wilhelmstadt,  that 
being  where  all  the  principal  stores  are  located.  The  other 
three  divisions  are  mostly  given  up  to  residences,  churches, 
and  warehouses  along  the  docks.  All  sections  of  the  place 
present  very  pleasing  pictures,  the  houses  being  substantially 
built  of  brick  and  stone  and  stuccoed,  and  all  painted  yellow 


, 


A    CURACAO    FERRYMAN. 


with  white  trimmings,  and  with  bright  red  tile  roofs.  All  the 
buildings  look  very  old,  and  some,  being  of  the  Moorish  style 
of  architecture,  doubtless  date  back  to  the  i6th  century,  when 
the  Spaniards  had  a  thriving  colony  here. 

I  have  never  been  to  Holland,  but  those  who  have,  and  have 
been  to  Curacao  also,  say  that  it  resembles,  very  strongl)-,  the 


THIRTY    DAYS    OX    THE    CARIBBEAN.  39 

Dutch  towns  on  the  Zuyder  Zee.  Perhaps  one-third  of  the 
population  reside  in  Otrabanda,  and,  consequently,  the  ferry 
business  between  there  and  Wilhelmstadt,  Pietermaay  and 
Scharlo,  across  the  harbor,  is  quite  lively.  It  is  carried  on  by 
one  hundred  and  fifty-six  licensed  and  numbered  flat-boats, 
each  propelled  by  one-man  power.  The  colored  skipper  sculls 
the  boat  with  a  heavy-bladed  oar,  leaning  his  forehead  hard 
against  the  end  of  it,  as,  with  his  hands  and  arms,  he  gives  it 
the  necessary  motion.  This  is  sculling  in  a  double  sense,  and 
the  dullest  wit  who  ever  goes  over  this  "Twickenham"  ferry 
never  fails  to  remark  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  Jiead-ivork 
about  the  business.  The  ferriage  is  five  Dutch  coppers,  about 
two  cents  of  our  money,  but  if  you  hand  out  a  small  piece  of 
silver  you  get  no  change  any  more  than  you  do  at  the  candy 
or  flower  booth  of  a  church  fair.  They  can't  understand 
English  at  all  when  change  is  needed,  and  we  soon  learned 
the  racket  and  kept  ourselves  supplied  with  an  abundance  of 
the  small  copper  coins  of  the  realm.  And  this  leads  me  to 
remark  that  the  language  spoken  in  Curacao  is  a  mixture  of 
Dutch,  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  with  a  little  English  thrown 
in  for  seasoning.  It  makes  a  very  peculiar  dialect,  and  is 
called  papianiento.  To  hear  it  gabbled  by  the  negroes  and 
negresses,  as  they  laugh  and  flirt  by  the  water-side,  you  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  meaning  oi  papianiento  is  Irish  stew 
or  boarding-house  hash  —  a  little  of  everything.  But  the  busi- 
ness men,  who,  by  the  way,  are  largely  made  up  of  Jews, 
nearly  all  speak  English,  and  know  how  to  drive  a  shrewd 
bargain  in  a  language  and  a  style  that  you  thoroughly  under- 
stand. The  streets  are  mostly  very  narrow  ones,  like  the 
streets  of  all  southern  or  tropical  towns  and  cities  first  settled 
by  the  Spaniards.  I  have  often  speculated  on  the  reason  for 
this,  for  there  must  have  been  a  reason.  If  it  was  for  greater 
shade  and  a  cooler  atmosphere,  I  think  the  benefit  gained  in 


40  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

this  regard  is  more  than  overbalanced  by  the  increased  filthi- 
ness  of  the  narrow  passages  —  too  greatly  honored  to  be  called 
streets  —  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  enough  of  heaven's  fresh 
air  into  them  to  carry  off  the  vile  odors. 

While   there  are  a   fair   number  of  pretty  good    stores    in 


THEY    CARRY    THEIR    BURDENS    ON    THEIR    HEADS 
AND    NONE    IN    THEIR    HEARTS.         CURACAO. 

Wilhelmstadt,  carrying  rather  large  stocks,  there  are  innumer- 
able little  shops,  the  excessive  smallness  of  which  you  can 
scarcely  imagine.  For  instance,  I  saw  a  shoe-shop,  four  feet 
wide  by  eight  feet  long,  with  four  men  at  work  in  it,  and  a 
tailor-shop,  next  door,  perhaps  a  foot  or  two  larger,  with  six 
men  working  in  it !     Every  doorway  is  a  store-room  for  a  half- 


THIRTY    DAYS    OX    THE    CARIBBEAN. 


4  I' 


dressed  negro  woman  to  display,  for  sale,  her  trays  and  baskets 
of  sweetmeats,  vegetables,  etc.  All  the  negro  women  carry 
their  burdens  on  their  heads.  They  evidently  have  none  to 
carry  in  their  hearts,  like  thousands  of  their  fairer  and  more 
enlightened  sisters,  and  they  go  laughing  and  talking  along^ 


THE    AIRY    FAIRY    LILIAN,    WHO    WASHED 
MY    LINEN.         CURACAO. 


without  apparently  giving  a  single  thought  to  the  tray,  or  tub, 
or  pail,  or  basket,  or  bundle  so  nicely  balanced  on  their  head. 
The  harbor  and  the  sea  is  the  general  wash-tub  for  the  lower 
classes.  Here  they  wash  their  clothes,  laying  them  on  the 
rocks  and  beating  them  with  a  club,  and,  after  rinsing  and 
wringing,  they  replace  them  in  the  tub,  and,  balancing  it  on 
their  head,  march  off  to  the  hill-side  to  spread  them  out  to 


42  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

dry.  I  do  not  think  they  understand  the  intricate  modern 
invention  of  a  clothes-line,  and  I  would  not,  for  the  world, 
disturb  their  sweet  and  simple  contentment  by  an  innovation 
such  as  that.  I  had  three  new  linen  shirts  soaked  in  the 
harbor,  beaten  with  a  club  (  I  was  not  wearing  them  at  the 
time),  and  dried  on  a  cactus  bush,  and,  though  bearing  plenty 
of  evidence  of  the  fearful  ordeal,  they  will  do  to  wear  around 
home,  I  fondly  hope,  for  several  weeks  yet ! 

The  negro  women  all  wear  turbans  on  their  heads,  and  they 
don't  seem  to  care  about  the  color,  "so  long  as  it  is  red." 
Their  costume  consists  of  but  one  other  garment,  and  this  is 
a  light  caiico  dress,  made  cii  train.  In  front  it  is  quite  short, 
displaying,  in  bold  relief,  their  bare  feet  and  ankles,  but  to 
have  it  trail  behind  seems  to  be  the  inexorable  law  of  colored 
fashion  in  Curacao. 

The  negro  children,  from  one  to  five  years  of  age,  toddle 
■about  in  pure  innocence,  clothed  only  in  the  simplicity  of 
Nature,  which  may  be  said  to  cover  them  as  with  a  garment, 
only  the  garment  is  non  est. 

The  living  of  these  ignorant  negroes  is  about  as  sinaple  as 
their  dress.  Those  who  propel  the  ferry-boats  sleep  in  them 
and  eat  the  simple  articles  that  are  peddled  about  by  the 
negro  women,  who  carry  them  in  trays  on  their  heads.  Those 
who  keep  house  do  so  in  the  most  primitive  manner,  in 
tenement  houses  that  appeared  to  be  crowded  with  occupants. 
Their  rooms  have  scarcely  any  furniture,  and  what  there  is 
seems  to  have  been  in  use  for  many  generations  past.  The 
drinking  habit  prevails,  to  a  great  extent,  and  I  was  told  that 
these  poor  ignorant  creatures  spend  all  their  money  (except 
what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  food  and  a  trifle  of  clothing) 
for  intoxicating  liquors. 

In  reflecting  on  the  degraded  condition  of  these  negro 
laborers  of  Curacao,  I  am  reminded  of  some  of  the  utterances 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN. 


43 


of  that  noble  champion  of  Labor  in  the  United  States,  T.  V. 
Powderly,  General  Master  Workman  of  the  Order  of  Knights 
of  Labor.  He  strikes  at  the  root  of  the  whole  trouble  amongst 
the  laboring  classes  when  he  declares  that  "-ignorarice  and 
intemperance  are  the  twin  evils  that  keep  the  working  classes 


ENTICED    INTO    THE   PHOTOGRAPHER  S    ROOM. 
CURACAO. 

in  poverty,  and  at  which  he  intends  to  strike  the  hardest 
blows  of  which  he  is  capable."  Again,  he  says,  and  I  wish  it 
coidd  be  posted  in  every  factory  and  workshop  throughout 
the  land :  "  I  will  oppose  no  reform  or  reformer,  but  will  seek 
to  aid  their  legitimate  efforts  by  battling  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  the  land  ;    by  protesting  against  the  spending 


44  THE    SPANISH    JMAIN. 

of  the  hard  earnings  of  labor  in  the  saloon  and  brothel.  Ignor- 
ance begets  intemperance,  intemperance  turns  freemen  into 
slaves;  slavery  begets  monopoly,  monopoly  bribes  congresses 
and  legislatures,  throttles  justice  by  bribing  the  courts,  and 
begets  anarchy.  Strike  a  telling  blow  at  anarchy,  monopoly, 
slavery  and  intemperance  by  killing  ignorance  in  the  school- 
roqm.  Let  us  demand  the  compulsory  education  of  American 
youth." 

The  manufactures  of  Curacao  amount  to  but  little.  A  pretty 
sort  of  jewelry  is  made  of  gold  obtained  at  Aruba,  an  island 
near  by.  Some  neat  little  work-boxes  and  small  writing-desks 
are  also  made  of  mahogany. 

As  Curacao  is,  practically,  a  free  port,  there  being  but  one 
and  a  half  per  cent,  duty  on  imports,  all  European  goods  can 
be  obtained  cheaper  there  than  in  the  United  States. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  45 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Curacao. 

THERE  are  a  great  man}-  small  vessels  sailing  between 
here  and  the  various  sea-ports  of  Venezuela.  The  thirty 
per  cent,  duty  charged  by  the  Venezuelan  government  on  all 
imports  (except  machinery,  which  is  free)  is  a  great  temptation 
and  incentive  to  smuggle  goods  from  Curacao  to  that  coast, 
and  I  learned  that  smuggling  is  carried  on  very  largely  by 
means  of  these  small,  fast-sailing  schooners  that  are  seen  in 
the  harbor. 

In  the  old  days  of  two  or  three  centuries  ago,  this  island 
was  one  of  the  favorite  -lurking-places  of  the  pirates  of  the 
Spanish  Main.  Here,  in  these  deep  lagoons,  sheltered  from 
storms  and  entirely  hidden  from  view  by  the  hills  and  cliffs, 
they  lay  in  wait  for  the  rich  Spanish  galleon  laden  with  the 
gold  of  the  Incas,  or  the  almost  equally  richly-laden  merchant- 
men with  wine  and  silks,  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  when 
sighted  they  gave  chase,  and  seldom  did  their  prey  escape. 
Seldom,  also,  did  they  take  any  prisoners.  They  killed  all, 
plundered  the  vessels  and  then  burned  them.  They  fought 
hard,  lived  luxuriously,  and  died  with  their  boots  on.  But 
they  were  all  religious  I  They  had  their  priests  and  their 
chapels,  gave  largely  to  the  Mother  Church,  and  always  kept 
their  religious  accounts  square  to  date  !  But  the  gay  and 
festive  pirate  and  the  bold  buccaneer  of  the  Spanish  Main  sail 
these  beautiful  seas  no  more.  Some  of  their  golden  plunder  is 
-said  to  be  still  buried  in  the  island  of  Curacao,  but  the  actors 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  47 

are  gone,  and  if  their  spirits  ever  revisit  the  scenes  of  their 
former  revelry  and  fierce  combats,  they  disturb  not  the  peace- 
ful, quiet  and  contented  minds  of  these  happy  islanders.  Only 
the  sneaking  smuggler  remains  to  remind  one  of  those  old 
days  when  all  the  islands  and  the  waters  of  the  Spanish  Main 
were  the  paradise  of  violent  men,  engaged  in  unlawful  busi- 
ness, and  hesitating  not  to  do  murder  and  every  other  sin  of 
the  decalogue  for  the  sake  of  gold. 

But  to  return  to  Curacao.  I  had  letters  of  introduction  to 
prominent  citizens  there  from  Morris  Coster,  Esq.,  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  New  Amsterdam  Gazette,  among  them  one  to 
Hon.  J.  H.  W.  Gravenhorst,  late  Governor  of  the  islands  of 
Buen  Ayer  and  Aruba,  two  of  the  Dutch  West  India  posses- 
sions. I  found  the  governor  a  very  intelligent  and  hale  and 
hearty  gentleman  of  from  fifty-five  to  sixty  years  of  age,  resid- 
ing with  his  family  in  a  finely  located  mansion  overlooking  the 
harbor.  A  more  hospitable  reception  from  the  governor  and 
his  excellent  wife  I  never  had  accorded  to  me  by  any  one,  and 
I  was  immediately  made  to  feel  perfectly  at  home.  The  gov- 
ernor's children  are  all  grown  up.  Two  of  his  daughters  are 
married  ;  one  of  them,  Mrs.  Forbes,  with  her  husband,  E.  H.  S.  B. 
Forbes,  a  very  genial  and  well-informed  man,  resides  with  her 
father,  as  does  also  an  unmarried  daughter  and  a  son.  My  first 
visit  to  this  delightful  home  was  the  second  evening  after  our 
arrival  at  Curacao.  I  took  with  me  Signor  Rudloff  and  Mr. 
Angell,  and  to  this  day  T  am  tormented  with  the  thought  that  to 
Signor  Rudloff  s  fluency  in  German  and  Spanish,  and  to  young 
Angell's  good  looks  and  glib  tongue,  I  was  more  indebted 
for  my  cordial  reception  and  subsequent  attentions,  than 
to  my  own  substantial  worth  and  thoroughly  gentlemanly 
appearance  —  especially  with  the  female  portion  of  the 
household!  But  'tis  ever  thus,  the  sweetest  roses  of  life 
have  some  thorn  that  rankles,  and  the  bosom  of  either  man 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  49 

or  woman  is  always  tortured  with  some  tinge  of  jealous}-  or 
disappointed  hopes! 

Another  kind  letter  from  a  New  York  friend  introduced  me 
to  Captain  L.  B.  Smith,  the  United  States  Consul  at  Curacao. 
Captain  Smith  is  from  Maine,  has  lived  here  eleven  years, 
and  does  a  large  business  in  ice  and  lumber  which  he  brings 
in  his  own  vessels  from  his  native  state.  He  generously 
placed  at  my  disposal  his  beautiful  little  steam  yacht,  man- 
aged by  his  son,  a  very  pleasant  and  intelligent  young  man  of 
twenty-one.  The  )'acht  cost  two  thousand  dollars,  and  I 
spent  so  many  pleasant  hours  in  her  that  I  had  a  photograph 
taken,  and  by  the  engraver's  art  I  am  enabled  to  give  a  picture 
of  her  as  she  appeared  in  the  lagoon  at  the  foot  of  the  small 
mountain  called  "  Sublica,"  on  the  top  of  which  is  built  Fort 
Nassau.  This  fort  is  garrisoned  by  about  fifty  Dutch  soldiers, 
and  is  used  also  as  a  signal  station.  Signals  displayed  on  a 
flag-pole  make  known  to  the  citizens  of  Curacao  the  approach 
of  vessels,  and  designate  particularly  by  the  various  numbers 
and  positions  of  the  flags  just  what  kind  of  a  vessel  or  steamer 
draws  near  the  sacred  soil. 

I  invited  the  Gra\'enhorst  family  and  the  three  "  bug-hunt- 
ers "  to  accompany  me  one  morning  on  an  excursion  in  the 
steam  launch  up  the  lagoon  into  the  Schattegat.  We  started 
about  seven  o'clock,  after  partaking  of  a  cup  of  fragrant  Mara- 
caibo  coffee  at  the  governor's  mansion,  intending  to  return  at 
the  usual  breakfast  hour  of  eleven.  The  evening  before,  as  we 
sat  on  the  governor's  piazza,  sipping  Our  tea,  we  had  been 
pressed  to  visit  the  estate  of  J.  H.  B.  Gravenhorst  (a  cousin  of 
the  governor's)  five  miles  in  the  country,  and,  as  we  recalled 
this  invitation,  our  young  skipper  said  he  could  land  us  within 
ten-minute's  walk  of  his  plantation.  So  thither  we  sped  over 
the  clear  and  tranquil  waters  of  this  lovely  ocean  lake.  Soon 
we  reached  the  little  dock,  and,  disembarking,  we  walked 
4 


50  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

slowly  up  a  beautifully  shaded  lane  to  "  our  cousin's"  planta- 
tion, which  has  the  name  of  "  Gasparito."  Here  we  were  met 
by  cousin  J.  H.  B.  and  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  escorted  up 
the  wide  stone  steps  to  the  spacious  stone  veranda  where  ten 
large  cane  rocking-chairs  awaited  our  occupancy! 

The  ten-minute  walk  had  moistened  the  epidermis  of  my 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  advoirdupois  to  such  an  extent 
that  a  large  cane  rocker,  a  palmetto  fan,  a  glass  of  cool  lemon- 
ade and  a  strong  cigar  seemed  just  what  my  frail  tenement  of 
flesh  required.  Inspiration,  or  long  experience  in  ministering 
to  the  wants  of  visitors  from  a  Northern  clime,  led  our  kind 
host  to  provide  just  these  very  articles,  and  I  noticed  that  our 
"  lean  and  hungry  "  bug-hunters  took  very  kindly  to  the  rest, 
the  zephyr,  the  refreshment,  and  the  solace  afforded  by  these 
important  factors  in  the  comfort  of  mankind  in  West  India 
climate — the  chair,  the  fan,  the  lemonade  and  the  cigar. 

The  view  from  this  piazza  was  lovely  indeed,  and  the  gov- 
ernor told  me  that  he  never  sat  there  gazing  on  the  beautiful 
panorama  spread  out  before  him  without  feeling  like  "  drop- 
ping into  poetry,"  like  Silas  VVegg  ;  but  he  had  thus  far  resisted 
the  strong  temptation,  and  had  contented  himself  with  making 
pencil  sketches  of  the  exquisite  land  and  waterscape. 

In  the  conservatory  of  this  hospitable  abode  we  were  shown  a 
great  variety  of  tropical  plants  and  flowers.  Many  of  them  were 
growing  in  boxes,  on  the  ends  of  which  we  read  in  plain  English 
the  familiar  legend,  "  Premium  Safety  Oil,  150°  Fire  Test." 

In  the  garden  we  saw  the  tamarind  tree,  and,  also,  the 
saddle  tree,  any  slip  of  which  will  grow  if  inserted  in  the  soil, 
and  many  other  trees  and  shrubs  strange  to  Northern  eyes. 
The  fleet-footed  and  sharp-eyed  lizards  darted  about  in  every 
direction  in  the  grass,  and,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  entomolo- 
gists, three  new  varieties  of  beetles  were  captured  and  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Angell. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  5  I 

Curacao  is  certainly  a  fine  winter  resort — an  El  Dorado  for 
invalids.  As  every  Spanish  name  has  some  significant  meaning, 
I  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  learn  that  Curacao  means  "heal- 
ing." When  in  Florida,  a  year  or  two  ago,  I  was  greatly 
amused  at  the  persistency  with  which  the  residents  of  every 
bog-hole  village  asserted,  "  There  is  no  malaria  here,"  when 
it  stalks  all  up  and  down  that  much-advertised  and  overrated 
land,  like  the  "  sheeted  dead  that  did  squeak  and  gibber  in 
the  streets  of  Rome." 

But  here  in  Curacao  (pronounced,  as  I  have  before  remarked, 
"  Cure-a-so ")  the  very  name  of  malaria  is  unknown,  or,  to 
distort  the  words  of  Bulwer,  "  In  the  bright  lexicon  of  Curacao 
there  is  no  such  word  as  malaria." 

I  should  like  to  see  that  fine  old  mansion  on  the  Estado 
Gasparito  enlarged  and  turned  into  a  hotel  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  visitors  from  the  North,  and  though  I  have  no  weak 
lungs  to  be  healed,  I  should  like  to  engage  that  piazza  for  my 
abiding-place  during  the  months  of  February  and  March  of 
every  winter.  This  house  was  built  by  a  Spanish  nobleman 
in  the  i6th  century.  It  is  constructed  of  sandstone  and  coral, 
and  stuccoed  with  water-lime.  Its  present  owner  keeps  it  in 
excellent  repair,  and  it  has  every  appearance  of  being  good  for 
several  more  centuries. 

There  is  a  beverage  much  prized  by  bon  invants,  called 
"  Curacao  liqueur.'"  Of  course,  you  aud  I  (who  "  never  drink  ") 
care  nothing  about  this  famous  decoction,  and  the  mere  men- 
tion of  it  is  forced  upon  me,  in  my  keen  desire  to  be  a  faithful 
chronicler  of  all  that  I  can  recollect  that  pertains  to  the  history 
or  the  traditions  of  this  beautiful  isle  of  the  sea.  Know,  then, 
that  "Curacao  liqueur^'  though  made  in  large  quantities,  and, 
alas,  as  I  fear,  drunk  also  in  large  quantities,  is  not,  and  never 
was,  made  in  Curacao  !  It  is  distilled  in  Holland  only,  and 
takes  its  name  simply  from  the  aromatic  flavor  given  to  it  by 


52  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  peel  of  an  orange  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  Curacao.  This 
orange,  which  is  not  good  to  eat,  but  the  peel  of  which  is  so 
highly  prized  by  distillers  in  Holland,  is  cultivated  by  mine 
host  Gravenhorst  on  his  plantation  Gasparito.  The  peel,  only, 
is  exported,  and  Mr.  G.  deriv^es  a  large  income  from  this 
peculiar,  though,  to  our  mind,  slightly  reprehensible  crop!  So 
when  you  are  offered  a  glass  of  Curacao  liqueur  (of  course,  as  a 
medicine  only),  you  will  remember  this  interesting  fact  which 
I  have  told  to  you  regarding  the  derivation  of  its  name.  Honi 
soit  qui  Dial y  poise  I 

But  the  "  foot  of  Time,"  which  "  travels  in  divers  paces  with 
■divers  persons,"  was  "swift,"  with  us,  and  we  were  admonished 
by  our  young  captain  that  if  we  would  reach  our  steamer  at 
the  breakfast  hour  we  must  take  our  departure.  Reluctantly 
the  farewells  were  said,  and  we  left  that  lovely  island  home, 
sincerely  regretting  our  visit  there  had  necessarily  been  so 
short.  Before  returning  to  the  dock,  we  made  the  entire 
circuit  of  the  Schattegat.  At  various  points  we  saw  beautiful 
country-seats,  nearly  all  of  which  had  pretty  names  like 
"  Pareda,"  and  "  Bleinheim,"  but  one  had  the  scriptural  name 
'  of  Mt.  Ararat !  We  reached  the  steamer  Philadelphia  at 
precisely  eleven  o'clock,  full  of  enthusiasm  (equaled  only  by 
our  appetites),  and  joined  our  genial  Captain  Hess  in  doing 
full  justice  to  a  breakfast  at  which  some  fine  fresh  fish  formed 
a  prominent  part. 

At  noon  of  this  eventful  day  we  had  to  say  good-by  to  Mr. 
Logan,  who  took  a  small  steamer  to  Maracaibo.  It  was  with 
sorrow  that  we  parted  with  one  of  our  trio  of  bug-hunters. 
We  had  held  a  strong  hand  all  the  voyage,  for  "  three  of  a 
kind  beats  two  pairs,"  but  now  we  have  but  a  single  pair  and 
our  spirits  are  depressed.     We  pass,  and  throw  up  our  hand  I 

The  good  people  of  Curacao  have  but  few  amusements,  such 
as  concerts,  theatrical  entertainments,  and   the   like,  but  they 


54  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

are  strong  in  clubs.  In  company  with  Consul  Smith,  we 
visited  "  Geehazelhead  "  Club,  in  Wilhelmstadt,  and  staid  an 
Tiour  in  its  pleasant  parlors.  I  have  spelled  the  name  of  this 
club  as  I  caught  it  by  word  of  mouth,  but,  upon  further  thought 
and  research,  I  am  rather  inclined  to  think  that  the  word  is 
"  Gezeligheid,"  and  means  "sociability."  If  you  have  any 
Joose  or  false  teeth,  I  would  not  advise  you  to  try  to  pronounce 
it.  I  noticed  that  Captain  Smith  looked  as  if  he  was  suffering 
from  a  slight  paralytic  stroke  after  he  gave  it  to  me. 

There  was  a  tidal  wave  September  23,  1877,  which  damaged 
the  town  of  Wilhelmstadt  to  the  amount  of  six  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  estimate,  however,  I  believe  includes  the 
loss  of  two  or  three  small  vessels,  which  were  driven  out  to  sea 
and  never  heard  from  afterward.  The  ruin  wrought  by  this 
might}'  wave  can  still  be  partially  seen,  although  many  of  the 
houses  destroyed  have  since  been  rebuilt.  My  friend,  Mr. 
Forbes,  was  one  of  the  victims  of  this  terrible  visitation  of  the 
hurricane  and  tidal  wave.  His  house  was  completely  wrecked, 
and  he  and  his  wife  escaped  from  it  but  a  few  moments  before 
it  fell  in  ruins.  A  previous  storm,  on  the  24th  of  June,  183 1, 
raged  with  great  violence  on  the  island  and  caused  severe 
damage,  but  to  the  adjacent  islands  of  Buen  Ayer  and  Aruba 
it  was  of  a  more  serious  nature  than  to  Curacao. 

There  are  so  many  interesting  things  to  tell  about  this  island 
that  I  find  I  must  omit  many,  or  I  shall  prolong  this  narrative 
to  an  unpardonable  length.  But  I  cannot  avoid  relating  here 
a  bit  of  biography  given  me  by  Governor  Gravenhorst,  as  he 
pointed  out  to  me  the  spot  where  had,  until  recently,  lain  the 
remains  of  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  South  American  War  of 
Independence. 

Admiral  Louis  Brion  was  born  in  Curacao,  July  6,  1782,  and 
was  educated  in  Amsterdam.  He  returned  from  Holland  to 
this    island  in  1799,  and,  obtaining  the  rank  of  captain  in  the 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  55 

militia  here,  he  served  in  1804  against  the  English,  under 
command  of  Commodore  Murry,  who  were  entrenched  on  the 
mountian  called  "  Kabrutenberg,"  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Fort  Beckenberg,  which  he  attacked  with  but  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  and  after  a  most  desperate  battle  put  the 
English  to  flight. 

Afterward,  under  the  renowned  General  Simon  Bolivar, 
known  as  the  Liberator  of  South  America,  he  fought  with  great 
bravery,  and  for  his  eminent  services  in  these  wars  of  inde- 
pendence, not  only  as  a  soldier,  but  in  bringing  stores  and 
arms  from  London,  in  his  own  vessels,  for  the  republican 
forces,  in  their  prolonged  and  patriotic  struggle  against  the 
Spanish  tyranny,  he  was  created  admiral.  It  is  said  that  he 
studied  navigation  in  the  United  States. 

His  career  was  characterized  by  great  bravery  and  skill  in 
handling  his  fleet  of  gun-boats,  in  his  numerous  engagements 
with  the  Spanish  men-of-war ;  but  he  did  not  live  to  see  the 
Spaniards  dispossessed  of  the  country  that  they  had  so  long 
ruled  over  and  plundered.  He  returned  from  South  America 
to  Curacao  in  1821,  and  died  there  the  twenty-first  of  Septem- 
ber, the  same  year,  and  was  buried  at  "  Rosentak,"  near  the 
country  seat  of  Gasparito.  In  September,  1881,  just  sixty 
years  after  his  death,  his  ashes  were  disinterred  by  order  of 
Guzman  Blanco,  the  President  of  Venezuela,  and  conveyed 
with  great  pomp  and  ceremony  to  Caracas,  where  they  now  lie 
with  the  ashes  of  many  other  South  American  heroes,  in  the 
Pantheon  in  that  city. 

Mine  host  of  Gasparito,  Mr.  J.  H.  B.  Gravenhorst,  witnessed 
the  disinterment  of  the  ashes  of  this  illustrious  man,  and 
inspired  by  the  interesting  occasion  wrote  some  verses,  in 
Dutch,  to  the  memory  of  Admiral  Brion,  a  printed  copy  of 
which  was  given  me  by  the  governor.  They  have  been  trans- 
lated for  me  by  Rev.  William  Hall,  of  New  York,  and  I  take 
pleasure  in  giving  both  the  original  and  the  translation: 


56 


THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


Eenige    Kegels 


Toegewyd  aan  de  nagedachtenis  van  den  Admiraal  Louis  Brion  by  dc  opdclving- 
van  zyn  staffelyk  overschot  te  Curacao  op  den  lyden  September,  iSSi. 

Niet  langer  hier  vertoefd,   niet   Linger  hier  gerust 

Vergeten,  onbekend,   door  niemand   hier  beweend  ; 

Men  roept  U  op,    Brion  ;    daar  ginds  op  d'overkust 

Eischt  men   Uw  dierbaar  stof,   vraagt   men  om    U\v  gebeent'  : 

U   dan  voor   't  laatst   gedankt,    nogmaals  voor   U   gerouwd. 

Columbia  !    gy  wilt    Brion,   uw'  redder,   eeren  ; 

't  Is  of  zyn  droeve  schim  my  by  zyn  graf  weerhoudt 

En  my  van  tranen  spreekt,  van  bloed  en  overheeren 

Van  Venezuela's  volk,   in  ketens  eens  geslagen. 

Van  koningen  beroofd  van  troon,  van  land  en  goed  ; 

Van  misdaad,  wanhoop,  duldeloos  lyden,  plagen. 

Van  ongekende  wreedheid,  dorst  naar  goud  en  bloed  ; 

't  Is  of  zyn  vlammend  oog,   waarvoor  Castilie  beefde 

Nog  vol  ontroering  staart  op  wreede  folteringen 

En  of  de  fiere  held,  die  steeds  naar  vryheid  streefde,  , 

De  lage  beulen  wil  in  yz'ren  kluisters  wringen. 

't  Is  of  zyn  mond  nog  vloekt  de  snoode  Castilianen 

En  van  het  leed  verhaalt,  door  hen  alom  verwekt. 

Columbia  !     besproeid  met  zooveel  bloed  en  tranen, 

Vereeuwig  thans  Brion,   zyn  roem  is    onbevlekt  ; 

Begroet  den  eed'Ien  held,   die  uit   Uw  schoone  staten 

Den  vyand  heeft  verjaagd,  zyn  legers  heeft  verslagen  ; 

Vergood,  bemin  den  held,   die  niet  heeft   toegelaten, 

Dat  gy,   als  slaaf,   verguisd,   het  Spaansche  juk  zoudt  dragen  ; 

Bezing  den  fieren  leeuw,  die  aan  Uw  oosterstranden 

De  Spaansche  vloot  verwon,  verbrand  heeft  en  vernield  ; 

Bazuin  zyn  deugden  rond,  verhaal  aan  alle  landen, 

Dat  gy,  Columbia  !    weent  by  zyn  graf  geknield. 

— /.   //.   B.    Gravenhorst. 

Lines, 

To  the  Memory  (?/ ADMIRAL  Louis  Brion,  on  the  Occasion  of  the  Removal  of  his 
Remains,  Inte^'red  at  Curacao,  September  lyth,  i8Si.  By  the  Hon.  J.  If.  B. 
Gravenhorst.     Printed  in  Wilhelmstadt,  Ctiracao. 

No  longer  here  detained,   no  longer  here  to  rest. 

Forgotten,  unknown,  by  no  one  here  deplored. 

They  call  thee  up,   Brion  !  and  everywhere  on  yonder  coast. 

They  ask  for  thy  dear  dust,   thy  buried  form  ; 

Thou  now,  at  last  art  thanked,  anew  art  wept. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  57 

Columbia  !    thy  Liberator,  Brion,  thou  wilt  honor  ; 

'T  is  he,  or  his  sad  shade,  me  by  his  tomb  doth  hold, 

To  me  doth  speak  of  tears,  of   blood  and  tyrants, 

Of  Venezuela's  folk,   in  chains  once  stricken, 

By  crime,   despair,   pains  intolerable,  plagues, 

By  cruelties  unknowable,  thirst  for  gold  and  blood  ; 

'T  is  he,  or  his  framing  eye,   'fore  which  Castilia  trembled. 

Still  full  of  terror,  just  fruit  of   persecutions  dire, 

As  if  the  fiery  hero  whoe'er  for  freedom    strove. 

Might  yet  the  base  hangmen  in  iron  fetters  wring  ; 

'T  is  he,  or  his  voice,  that  curseth  still  Spain's  sordid  sons. 

And  of   the  suffering  telleth,  through  the  universe  resounded. 

Columbia  !  besmeared  with  blood  and   tears. 

Now  immortalize  thy  Brion — unspotted  glory  his  ! 

Salute  thy  noble  champion,  who  from  your  beauteous  States 

The  foe  hath  driven,  his  legions  smitten  ; 

Repay  with  love  the  man  heroic,  who  ne'er  could  brook 

That  thou  enslaved,  deceived,  should  wear  Castilian   yoke  : 

And  laud  the  lion  bold,  who  on  yon  eastern  strands, 

Vanquished  Hispania's  fleet,  burned  and  destroyed  ; 

Trumpet  his  virtues,  to  every  land  proclaim 

That  thou,  Columbia,  kneeling,  dost  with  tears  his  grave  bedew. 

Slavery  previously  existed  in  Curacao,  but  was  done  away 
with  July  I,  1863,  about  the  time  the  shackles  fell  off  from  our 
own  four  millions  of  bondmen  and  women. 

The  Holland  Government  paid  to  the  owners  eighty  dollars 
each  for  every  slave  emancipated,  which  was  satisfactory  to  all 
concerned,  and  now  the  blacks  work  for  from  twelve  cents  a 
day  in  the  salt  vats,  to  twenty  or  thirty  cents  a  day  in  other 
employments  requiring  physical  strength  but  no  particular 
amount  of  brains.  A  master-carpenter  or  mason  receives 
sixty  cents  a  day,  while  the  journeyman  jogs  along  happily 
through  this  mundame  sphere  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
pecuniary  recompense  of  forty  cents  per  diem  for  his  labor. 

A  diligent  inquiry  could  discover  no  Knights  of  Labor 
organization  on  the  island,  and  "strikes"  are  unknown. 
Whether  a  different  state  of  affairs,  such  as  the  K.  of  L. 
organization    would    inaugurate,    would    improve   the    present 


^8  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

condition  of  these  20,000  negroes,  is  a  question  that  I  leave 
open  to  those  who  care  to  ponder  upon  it.  If  they  could  be 
weaned  from  guzzling  gin,  and  other  injurious  and  unnatural 
beverages,  it  would  probably  be  of  greater  benefit  to  them 
than  an  increase  of  wages ;  for  with  them  more  money  means 
more  gin. 

A  Neglected  Opportunity. 

One  evening,  at  the  hospitable  residence  of  ex-Governor 
Gravenhorst,  his  son  said  to  me,  while  we  were  sipping  our  tea 
in  the  moonlight  on  the  broad  stone  piazza,  "  Mr.  H.,  the 
house  that  I  am  with  here  import  the  very  best  quality  of 
Holland  gin,  and  if  you  want  a  few  bottles  to  take  home  with 
you,  I  can  let  you  have  them  at  our  wholesale  prices."  Cow- 
ard that  I  was,  I  assumed  a  grateful  look,  and,  thanking  him 
warmly,  said  that,  perhaps  before  I  left  Curacao  I  would  avail 
myself  of  his  kind  offer !  What  1  ought  to  have  said  would 
have  been  about  as  follows  :  "  Thank  you,  Mr.  Gravenhorst,  I 
never  drink  gin,  or  any  other  beverage  of  an  intoxicating 
nature.  I  am  opposed  to  it  en  principle,  believing  it  to  be  the 
greatest  as  well  as  the  most  insidious  enemy  of  mankind.  In 
my  own  country  we  are  endeavoring  to  put  a  stop  to  the  liquor 
traffic  by  legislation,  and  at  our  last  election  I  voted  the  entire 
Prohibition  ticket  with  the  exception  of  the  Republican  con- 
gressional candidate,  who  is  my  banker  and  personal  friend." 
But  "  'tis  conscience  makes  cowards  of  us  all,"  and  I  neglected 
this  most  favorable  opportunity  to  implant  my  temperance 
sentiments  in  the  breast  of  this  young  gentleman! 

Ah,  how  universal  is  the  infatuation  in  men  to  put  "  an 
enemy  in  their  mouths  to  steal  away  their  brains!"  Self- 
indulgence  in  the  drinking  habit,  or  some  selfish  interest,  direct 
or  indirect,  in  the  liquor  traffic,  often  leads  travelers  to  report 
very  favorably  on  the  happy  state  of  affairs  that  they  found  in 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  59 

this  countr}',  or  that  country,  where  the  peasantry  all  drank 
their  wine  or  beer  with  their  wives  and  children,  and  were 
none  the  worse  for  it,  either  in  body,  mind  or  estate  !  But  it 
is  all  "bosh,"  and  they  know  it.  Every  intelligent  man  who 
travels  with  his  eyes  open  and  his  intellect  unclouded  to 
receive  honest  impressions,  knows  that  there  is  not  a  country 
•on  the  face  of  the  globe,  nor  an  island  of  the  sea,  where  the 
use  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  not  the  same  blasting  curse  to 
the  human  race  there,  as  it  is  in  Massachusetts  or  Pennsylvania. 

"  O,   thou  invisible  spirit  of  wine, 

If  tliou  hast  no  name  to  be  known  by, 
Let  us  call  thee — devil  !  " 

Fort  Beckenberg,  which  I  have  just  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  biography  of  Admiral  Brion,  is  situated  on  what  is 
known  as  Caracas  Bay,  and  was  built  by  the  Spaniards  in  1527. 
It  is  now  used  for  quarantine  purposes,  in  connection  with  other 
spacious  buildings  which  were  erected  in  1884  by  the  Dutch 
go.vernment  at  an  expense  of  thirty-eight  thousand  dollars. 

All  over  the  island  are  remains  of  forts  and  signal  stations, 
interesting  in  their  history,  which  remind  one  of  the  varying 
fortunes  of  war  through  w^hich  this  island  has  passed.  But  I 
must  hasten  on,  and  before  leaving  the  subject  of  Curacao, 
speak  of  my  attendance  at  church  in  the  ancient  religious 
edifice  built  within  the  walls  of  Fort  Amsterdam.  In  company 
with  Captain  Hess,  Mr.  H.  T.  Livingston,  and  Dr.  Hutch- 
inson, I  entered  one  of  the  scull-propelled  ferry  boats  on 
Sunday  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  and  proceeded  to  attend 
church  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  my  pious  ancestry  for 
many  generations.  We  reached  the  church  a  half-hour  before 
the  time  of  service,  and  were  politely  shown  about  the  ancient 
building  by  a  deacon  who  v/as  an  acquaintance  of  our  cap- 
tain's. The  first  thing  that  attracted  our  attention  on  the 
■outside    was    a   cannon-ball,   inserted    apparently    with    great 


6o  .         THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

force  in  the  wall  of  the  church,  just  above  the  main  entrance. 
This  is  a  souvenir  of  the  English  who  placed  it  there,  nolens 
volens,  about  an  hundred  years  ago,  and  the  agent  that  did  the 
job  was  a  brass  cannon  mounted  on  an  eminence  across  the 
lagoon,  about  one  mile  back  of  Otrabanda.  The  English  and 
Dutch  were  having  a  little  trouble  about  that  time,  and  the 
English  vessels,  not  being  able  to  enter  the  harbor,  landed 
their  guns  through  the  surf  on  the  sea-shore,  and,  planting  a 
battery  on  a  hill,  bombarded  the  town  of  Wilhelmstadt  and 
Fort  Amsterdam  to  a  capitulation. 

I  forget  the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  church,  but  the 
imprint  on  the  Bible  in  the  pulpit  is  1756,  but  that  is  probably 
a  new  affair  in  comparison  to  the  church  itself.  The  floor  of 
the  church  is  sanded  to  the  depth  of  about  an  inch  or  so,  and 
is  as  noiseless  to  the  thickest  boots  as  an  Axminster  carpet 
would  be.  The  audience  part  of  the  church,  exclusive  of 
pulpit  and  organ-gallery,  is  about  forty  feet  wide  by  fifty  feet 
in  length.  Immediately  opposite  the  pulpit  is  a  high  and 
rather  pretentious  private  box  for  the  governor.  The  center 
of  the  church  is  seated  with  ordinary  wood-seat  chairs,  and 
here  the  women  sit  and  receive  the  full  force  of  the  discharge 
from  the  pulpit,  while  the  men,  the  greater  sinners,  sit  in 
pews  around  the  sides  of  the  room  and  only  receive  the  scat- 
tering shot.  This  is  wrong.  Perhaps  a  guilty  sense  of  extreme 
wickedness,  and  a  consciousness  of  deserving  a  thorough  over- 
hauling and  denunciation  from  the  minister,  prompted  me  to 
take  a  seat  among  the  chairs  in  the  center  of  the  church.  I 
took  Brother  Livingston  with  me,  but  Brothers  Hess  and 
Hutchinson  took  the  regulation  seats  for  sinful  men  in  the 
pews. 

I  noticed  that  the  girls  (all  terribly  homely  creatures)  tittered 
as  we  took  our  seats,  and,  divining  the  cause,  I  was  not  at  all 
surprised,  when,  a  few  minutes  afterward,  a  square-rigged  old 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  6 1 

Dutch  deacon  came  and  politely  requested  us  to  change  our 
seats  from  the  chairs  to  the  pews.  At  this  the  thirty-one 
homely  girls  (the  entire  female  portion  of  the  congregation) 
tittered  again,  and  the  occurrence  seemed  to  keep  them  in 
good  spirits  all  through  the  session.  I  congratulated  m}'self 
upon  being  the  cause  of  so  much  unallo}'ed  happiness,  and 
felt  for  once  that  my  life  had  not  been  in  vain.  As  for 
Brothers  Hess  and  Hutchinson,  the  looks  of  mock  solemnity 
and  pity  which  they  assumed  in  the  hour  of  our  humiliation 
was  too  exasperating  for  endurance,  and  I  fear  that  my  life 
ma\'  be  too  short  for  an  opportunit}-  to  present  itself  wherein  I 
can  get  even  with  them. 

The  numbers  of  the  hj-mns  to  be  sung  are  painted  in  large 
figures  on  square  blocks  and  hung  up  on  the  four  massive 
pillars  which  support  the  roof.  The  organ  sounded  pretty 
well  and  was  vigorously  pla}'ed,  with  considerable  squeaking 
of  the  keys  and  noise  of  the  pump,  but  the  singing  was  droned 
out  in  a  most  depressing  manner.  Everything  was  in  Dutch, 
and  Brother  Livingston  and  I  had  to  imagine  the  sentiment 
contained  in  the  h\-mns  that  were  sung.  Perhaps  what 
impressed  me  most  in  this  part  of  the  service  was  the  fervor 
with  which  Captain  Hess  entered  into  it.  He  held  his  hymn- 
book  in  both  hands,  up  high,  and,  as  he  soared  away  with 
closed  eyes,  in  a  sort  of  holy  ecstacy — on  the  zvrong  note — I 
felt  more  drawn  to  him  than  e\'er  from  the  similarity  of  our 
natures  and  education,  both  being  very  much  inclined  to 
religion,  and,  also,  to  vocal  music,  and  knowing  dreadful  little 
about  either  I  The  sermon  was  in  two  acts.  After  preaching 
about  half  an  hour,  the  good  man  stopped  and  gave  out  a 
hymn,  and  I  thought  what  a  thoroughly  sensible  man  he  was 
to  preach  such  a  short  sermon  —  not  too  short,  you  know,  but 
just  short  enough.  But  lo  I  and  behold,  after  the  hymn  was 
finished   he  began  to  preach  again  I       His  text,   I   had  ascer- 


62  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

tained,  was  from  the  chapter  that  he  had  read  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  service — Matthew  25th — containing  the 
parable  of  the  talents,  but  which  verse  it  was  I  could  not 
exactly  determine.  But  my  accusing  conscience  supplied  it, 
and  I  felt  sure  it  must  be  the  one  beginning,  "  Thou  wicked 
and  slothful  servant,"  and,  as  he  looked  directly  at  me,  it 
seemed  that  he  said,  in  substance,  "And  thou  miserable  sinner 
from  Pennsylvania,  what  hast  tJiou  done  with  the  talent  which 
thy  Lord  has  given  thee?"  and  then  he  proceeded  to  rehearse 
to  me  my  unprofitable  life,  and,  as  I  winced  and  trembled 
under  his  just  denunciations,  he  gave  me  a  closing  home  thrust 
with  the  question,  "Didst  thou  not  promise  thy  best  earthly 
friend  to  read  a  chapter  every  day  from  the  little  red  testa- 
ment that  was  put  in  thy  satchel,  and  how  hast  thou  kept  that 
promise?"  I  dared  not  look  up.  I  felt  sure  that  the  eyes  of 
Hess  and  Hutchinson  were  upon  me,  and  that  they  were 
saying  to  themselves,  "  Ah,  now  he's  catching  it,"  and  that  the 
thirty-one  homely  girls,  in  their  dowdy  white  dresses  and  straw 
hats  trimmed  with  blue  ribbons,  were  gloating  over  my  misery. 
Never  before  did  I  perspire  so  much  as  I  did  under  that  sermon 
in  Dutch,  and  I  shall  long  remember,  if  not  profit  by,  the  dis- 
course of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tyderman  of  Curacao.  Judging  from 
the  audience  assembled  at  this  service,  being  thirty-one  females 
and  eleven  males,  I  conclude  that  religion  in  this  island  is  at 
rather  a  low  ebb.  But  here,  as  elsewhere,  it  holds  true  that 
the  women  worshipers  far  outnumber  those  of  the  sterner  sex. 
The  next  morning  at  five  o'clock,  young  Mr.  Arthur  B. 
Smith,  son  of  the  American  consul,  met  me  by  appointment, 
with  a  small  boat  rowed  by  a  negro,  and  together  we  made  an 
excursion  up  a  lagoon  called  "  Zackato,"  the  entrance  to  which 
is  just  by  Fort  Rif  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Along  this 
lagoon  are  located  the  general  hospital,  the  marine  hospital, 
the    mad-house    and    the  lazaretto.     On   an    eminence   about 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  63 

two  miles  away  we  could  plainly  see  an  old  square  fort  or 
earthworks,  said  to  have  been  built  in  a  single  night  by  the 
English,  in  the  year  1804,  when  they  bombarded  Fort  Amster- 
dam and  the  town  of  Wilhelmstadt.  For  a  mile  or  so,  this 
lagoon  is  wide  like  a  lake,  and  quite  shallow,  but  afterward  it 
is  very  narrow  and  leads  winding  along  for  about  half  a  mile 
to  where  the  old  salt  beds  were  made  centuries  ago  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  bushes  along  the  narrow  part  of  the  lagoon 
held  thousands  of  oysters  which  were  clinging  to  them,  and 
made  a  curious  sight.  The  negroes  sometimes  eat  them,  but 
they  are  not  very  palatable.  We  saw  numbers  of  large  birds 
of  various  kinds,  which  did  not  seem  to  be  much  afraid  of  us, 
and  I  conclude  that  but  little  shooting  is  done  here.  On  the 
high  grounds  were  large  flocks  of  goats,  the  raising  of  which 
for  milk,  and  food,  and  hides,  is  carried  on  extensively  in  the 
island. 

At  the  old  salt  beds  we  landed,  and  walked  a  few  hundred 
feet  to  the  shore  of  the  Caribbean  Sea.  The  beach  was  a 
perfect  mass  of  coral  rocks,  or  rather  fragments  of  coral,  and  I 
gathered  a  dozen  or  more  beautiful  specimens  of  both  the 
white  and  pink  coral. 

The    Coral    Grove. 

Deep  in  the  wave  is  a  Coral  Grove, 

Where  the  purple  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove, 

^\'here  the  sea-flower  spreads  its  leaves  of  blue, 

That  never  are  wet  with  falling  dew. 

But  in  bright  and  changeful  beauty  shine, 

Far  down  in  the  green  and  glassy  brine. 

The  floor  is  of  sand  like  the  mountain  drift, 
And  the  pearl  shells  spangle  the  flinty  snow; 

From  coral  rocks  the  sea-plants  lift 
Their  boughs  where  the  tides  and  billows  flow; 

The  water  is  calm  and  still  below, 
For  the  winds  and  waves  are  absent  there, 

And   the  sands  are  bright  as  the  stars  that  glow 
In  the  motionless  fields  of  upper  air; 


64  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

There  with  its  waving  blade  of  green, 
The  sea-flag  streams  through  the  silent  water, 

And  the  crimson  leaf  of  the  dulse  is  seen 
To  blush  like  a  banner  bathed  in  slaughter; 

There  with  a  light  and  easy  motion 
The  fan-coral  sweeps  through  the  clear  deep  sea, 

And  the  yellow  and  scarlet  tufts  of  ocean 
Are  bending  like  corn  on  the  upland  lea: 

And  life,   in  rare  and  beautiful  forms. 
Is  sporting  amid  those  bowers  of  stone, 

And  is  safe,  when  the  wrathful  spirit  of  storms 
Has  made  the  top  of  the  wave  his  own; 

And  when  the  ship  from  his  fury  flies. 
Where  the  myriad  voices  of  ocean  roar. 

When  the  wind-god   frowns  in  the  murky  skies. 
And  demons  are  waiting  the  wreck  on  shore, 

Then  far  below,  in  the  peaceful  sea. 
The  purple  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove, 

Where  the  waters  murmur  tranquilly 
Through  the  bending  twigs  of  the  Coral  Grove. 

— James  Perci^'al. 

The  Caves  of  Curacao. 

There  are  many  caves  in  this  island  ;  but  the  most  interest- 
■ing  is  that  of  Hato,  located  in  a  small  mountain  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  on  the  estate  "  Hato,"  about  three  miles 
from  the  town,  on  the  north  coast  of  the  island.  Although  the 
extent  of  it  is  not  known,  it  is  considered  as  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  island,  consisting  of  many  extensive  galleries  and  high 
arches  of  stone.  The  natural  formation  is  sand  and  limestone. 
The  name  "  Hato  "  was  given  to  the  estate  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  Caribbean  Indians  were  the  discoverers  of  this  and  other 
caves,  which  were  by  tradition  inhabited  by  them.  As  there  are 
no  rivers  nor  brooks  in  the  island,  and  the  Indians  having  no 
iron  utensils  to  dig  wells,  they  occupied  this  estate  and  others, 
where  they  discovered  springs  to  procure  them  sufficient  water. 
On  the  estate  Hato  there  is  a  spring  of  crystalline  water  flow- 
ing during  the  whole  year  from  the  cave  mountain  into  the 


66  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

valley,  Avhere  large  reservoirs  have  been  made  to  keep  the 
Avater  for  agricultural  and  other  purposes.  This  water  has 
proved  to  be  a  kind  of  mineral  water,  and  is  of  a  very  good 
taste,  and  said  to  possess  medicinal  qualities.  As  I  needed  no 
medicine,  I  but  tasted  of  it,  and  waited  for  a  good  square  drink 
till  I  returned  to  the  town. 

On  the  estate  San  Pedro,  in  the  same  direction  as  Hato,  but 
ten  miles  from  the  town,  there  is  also  a  cave  and  a  spring,  but 
of  less  importance  than  the  former.  This  is  called  the  Cave  of 
San  Pedro. 

Our  engraving  gives  a  faithful  representation  of  one  of  the 
interior  chambers  of  the  Cave  of  Hato.  I  did  net  enter  the 
cave,  having  been  entirely  satisfied  with  cave  experience  in  an 
exhaustive  walk  of  five  miles  through  the  "  Cuevas  de  Bella- 
mar,"  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  two  years  ago.  I  was  perfecth- 
willing  to  accept  as  tiu  a  all  the  marvelous  tales  of  its  interior 
magnificence,  a  id  even  the  tradition  that  it  was  the  place 
where  all  of  Captain  Kidd's  treasures  were  buried,  but  respect- 
fulh'  declined  to  enter  its  gloomy  portals. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  67 


CHAPTER    VI  I. 

The   Spanish   Main. 

"  The  sea  !    the  sea !    the  open  sea  I 
The  blue,  the  fresh,  the  ever  free  ! 
Without  a  mark,  without  a  bound, 
It  runneth  the  earth's  wide  region  round  ; 
It  plays  with   the  clouds  ;    it  mocks  the  skies  ; 
Or  like  a  cradled    creature  lies." 

AND  now  the  time  approached  when  we  must  bid  farewell 
to  the  island  of  Curacao,  and  proceed  on  our  voyage  to 
Venezuela.  Our  invalids  had  improved  wonderfully  during 
our  sojourn  there.  Miss  N.  had  been  able  to  take  long  walks 
and  rides  without  fatigue,  and  Mr.  Morrison  had  recovered 
his  voice.  That  Curacao  is  a  most  interesting  spot,  with  a 
climate  near  to  perfection,  was  the  unanimous  verdict.  We 
had  found  the  citizens  most  hospitable,  and  the  invitations  we 
had  received  to  dinners  and  to  evening  parties,  were  more 
numerous  than  we  could  possibly  accept.  We  made  our 
parting  calls  on  many  friends  and  they  in  turn  came  to  the 
steamer  to  see  us  off.  At  six  in  the  evening  we  steamed  out 
of  the  harbor  and  were  once  more  on  the  bosom  of  the  beauti- 
ful sea — that  historic  sea,  taking  its  name  from  the  Carib 
Indians  and  also  bearing  the  title  of  "  The  Spanish  Main," 
a  title  that  is  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  romance  and  adventure, 
in  which  brave  mariners  of  all  nations,  as  vv^^ll  as  bloody  pirates, 
are  mingled. 

The  night  was  calm  and  beautiful,  and  with  one  accord 
we  gathered  in  a  circle  on  deck,  for  a  reunion  and  an  evening 
of  song.     By  this  time  we  had  formed  strong  suspicions  that 


68  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

-Mr.  Morrison  was  a  vocalist  as  well  as  a  manipulator  of  the 
banjo,  and  Miss  N.  was  delegated  to  inform  him  that  his  fellow- 
travelers  believed  that  it  was  his  duty  to  sing  to  us  as  a  token 
of  gratitude  for  the  recovery  of  his  voice.  He  acknowledged 
the  force  of  the  argument  and  gave  us  a  fine  sentimental  song 
in  good  style,  but  we  were  in  a  jolly  mood  and  clam  ,red  for 
something  of  a  more  lively  and  vivacious  character,  and  then 
this  was  the  song  he  sang,  with  banjo  accompaniament : 

The    Irish    Christening    at    Tipper  a  r  v. 

" 'Twas  down  in  that  place   Tipperary, 
Where  they're  so  airy  and  so  contrar)-, 
They  cut  up  the  devil's   figary, 

When  they  christened  my  beautiful  boy. 
In  the  corner  the  piper  sat  winkin', 
And  a  blinkin',   and  a   thinkin', 
And  a  naggin  of  punch  he  was  drinkin', 

And  wishing  the  parents  great  joy. 
When  home  from  the  church  they  came  with 
Father  Tom  and  big  Micky  Bannigan, 
Scores  of  as  purty  boys  and  girls 

As  ever  ye'd  ax  to  see,    when  in  flew  the  door 
And   Hogan  the  tinker,   and  Lathering   Lannigan 
Kicked  up  a  row  and  wanted  to  know 
Why  they  weren't  axed  to  the  spree. 

And  the  baby  set  up  such  a  squalling, 
And  such  a  bawling  and  caterwauling, 
And  the  nurse  on  the  mother  was  calling, 

There  was  a  time   "  mon  um  ga  joy  "  1 
The  piper  his  chanter  was  droning, 
And  a  groaning,  and   a  moaning, 
The  ould  woman  set  up  the  croaning 

When  the\'  christened  sweet    Dannx-  the  boy. 

' '  Th'  aristocracy  came  to  the  party, 
There  was  McCarty,  light  and  hearty, 
Wid  Florence   Bedalia  Fogarty, 

(She  says  that's  the  French  for  her  name), 
Dionasius  Alphonso   Malroony, 
Oh,   so  loony  and  so   spoony, 
Wid  the  charmin'   Evangeline   Mooney, 
Of  society  she  was  the  crame. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  69 

Cora  Terasa  Maud  McCann, 
Algernon  Rouke  and  Lulu  McCafferty, 
Reginald   Marmaduke   Maurice  Megan, 

Clarence  Ignatius  McGuirk, 
Cornelius   Horatio    Flaherty's  son, 
Adelaide  Grace  and  Doctor  O'Rafferty, 
Eva  McLoughlin,  Cora  Muldoon, 

And  Brigadier  General  Burke. 

They  were  dancing  the  Polka   Mazurka, 
'Twas  a  worker,  ne'er  a  shirker, 
The  Varsoviana  La  Turker 

And  the  Polka  row-dow  was  divine. 
They  marched  and  then  went  into  luncheon. 
Oh,   such  punchin'  and  such  scrunchin', 
They  were  busy  as  bees  at  the  munchin' 

Wid  coffee,  tea,  whisky  and  wine. 

'  There  was  all  sorts  of  tay — there  was   Schow-chong, 
And  there  was  Ning-yong,  and  there  was  Ding-dong, 
Wid  Oolong,  and  Toolong,  and  Boolong, 

And  tay  that  was  made  in  Japan. 
There  was  sweetmeats  imported  from  Java, 
And  from  Guava,  and  from   Havre, 
In  the  four-masted  ship  the   Minarva, 

That  came  from  beyant  Hindoostan. 
Cowld  ice  creams  and  cream  that  was  hot, 
Roman  punch  froze  up  in  snowballs  and   sparagrass, 
■'Patte  de  foi  gras,"  whatever  that  manes. 

Made  out  of  goose  livers  and  grease; 
Red-headed  ducks  wid  salmon  and  peas. 
Bandy-legged  frogs  and  Peruvian  ostriches. 
Bottle-nosed  pickerel,   woodcock  and  snipe. 

And  everything  else  that  would  plaze. 

After  dinner  of  course"  we  had   spaking. 

There  was  handshaking,   there  was  leave-taking, 

In  the  corner  Ould  mothers  match-making, 

Wid  Other  sucji  innocent  sins. 
And  we  drank  a  good  health  to  each  other, 
Then  to  each  brother,  then  to  each  mother, 
But  the  last  toast  I  thought  I  would  smother, 

When  they  hoped  that  the  next  would  be  twins  !  " 


yO  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

His  inimitable  manner  and  excellent  vocalism  gave  great 
delight,  and  for  an  encore  he  gave  us  another  song,  equalh' 
new  and  equally  amusing. 

Then  we  began  the  "  old  "  songs,  and  our  college  friends, 
Mr.  A.  and  young  Mr.  L.,  gave  us  the  "  Romance  of  the  Cape," 
which  Mr.  Morrison  also  knew,  and  accompanied  with  the 
banjo  : 

"There  came  to  the  Cape  a  lady  in  crape, 

Of  whom  you  may  not  hear; 
They  wrote  her  name  in  the  visitors'  book 

As  a  lady  from  Gardinier. 
And  with  her  was  seen  a  lady  in  green, 

Of  whom  you  may  hear  more; 
Her  husband  was  drown'd  off  Long  Island  Sound, 

So  sea-green  weeds  she  wore. 

"And  when  with  a  clang  the  dinner-bell  rang, 

To  the  banquet  hall  they  sped, 
They  sat  remote  at  the  table-d'hote, 

While  the  boarders  sat  at  the  head. 
Oh,   the  boarders  laughed  as  their  wine  they  quaffed, 

Loud  laughed  each  little  child  ; 
As  they  ate  their  chowder  they  laughed  the  louder, 

But  these  neither  ate  nor  smiled. 

"And  when  'neath  the  pines  they  baited  their  lines 

And  fished  in  mute  despair. 
The  fisherman  asked,  as  he  shot  through  the  blast, 

'  Won't  you  give  us  a  lock  of  your  hair?' 
'  My  husband  is  dead,'  the  green   lady  said, 

'  A  drowned   man  is  he; 
I  would  he  would  rise,  with  his  pale  blue  eyes 

And  speak  one  word    to  me.' 

"These  words  that  she  uttered  were  scarcely  muttered, 

When   her  line  grew  heavy  as  lead, 
And  up  rose  a  creature  whose  every  feature. 

Resembled  her  husband  dead  ! 
'Come  hither,'   said  he,    'to  the    deep  blue  sea;' 

And  he  tugged  so  hard  at  her  line, 
That  he  pulled  her  down,   in  her  sea-green  gown, 

While  she  sang   '  Forever  Thine  ! ' 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  J I 

"Then  go,  if  you  can,  to  the  classic  Cape  Ann 

And  stop  at  Hotel  de  Clare, 
And  view,  without  fainting,  a  beautiful  painting 

That  hangs  in  the  parlor  there. 
This  painting  was  made  by  the  artist  0'(^uade, 

And  on  it  two  faces  are  seen — 
The  man  who  was  drowned  off  Long  Island  Sound, 

And  his  wife,  the  lady  in  green." 

Mr.  Howe,  our  handsome  young  purser,  was  here  persuaded 
to  sing  "The  Lig^ht-house  by  the  Sea"  (that  some  of  us  had 
heard  him  humming  to  himself),  and  we  all  joined  in  the 
chorus. 

The  Light-house  by  the  Sea. 

"  There's  a  light  !  there's  a  light, 

And  it  shines  far  out  at  sea — 
'T  is  a  beacon  so  bright 

From  my  true-love  to  me. 
There's  a  light  !  there's  a  light  \ 

In  a  light-house  by  the  sea. 

"  In  a  light-house  by  the  sea. 
There's  a  sweet  face  waits  for  me; 

Whene'er  I'm  away 

She  waits  day  by  day 
For  the  white  sails  far  over  the  foam; 

When  storms  rage  high  at  night. 

Her  lamps  are  always  bright  ; 

She's  the  pride  of  m/  heart. 
So  steer,  my  lads,  for  home. 

"  Many  a  day  since  last  I  saw  her  face. 

And  gazed  in  her  eyes, 
Their  loving  truth   to  trace. 

We'll  meet  ne'er    to  part, 
For  with  her  I'll  remain. 

I  am  coming,   yes,    I'm  coming 
To  you,  sweet  lass,  again. 

' '  When  storms  rage  high  at  sea. 
Ye  ho,  my  lads,  ye  ho  ! 
She  waits  for  me, 

Ye  ho,  my  lads,  ye  ho  ' 


2  .  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

In  a  light-house  by  the  sea, 
A  sweet  face  waits  for  me. 

Whene'er  I'm  away, 

She  waits  day  by  day 
For  the  white  sails   far  over  the  foam. 

When  storms  rage  high  at  night, 

Her  lamps  are  always  bright  ; 

She's  the  pride  of  my  heart. 
So  steer,  lads,   steer  for  home." 

After  this  one  of  our  number  gave  a  recitation  as  follows 

"  I  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  Hoffman 

And  gazed  at  the  living  tide. 
Of  vehicles  down  the  middle, 

And  people  up  either  side. 
And  I  saw  a  maid  in  her  beaut)% 

In  a  shawl  of  real  cashmere. 
Step  down  from  out  of  a  carriage, 

While  her  robe  got  caught  in  the  rear  ! 

"  Oh,   the  robe  was  of  vioirc  antiqzte, 

A  very  expensive  rag  ; 
But  a  skirt  peeped  out  beneath. 

And  that  was  a  coffee  bag  ! 
I  knew  it  once  held  coffee. 

Though  now  'twas  another  thing, 
For  on  it  was  "Fine  old  Java," 

Y,   marked  with  store  blacking  ! 

"  And  as  she  gained  the  sidewalk, 

And  the  muslin  again  was  furled, 
I  thought  how  those  outskirts  and  inskirts, 

Were  like  men's  hearts  in  the  world  ! 
How  many  a  Pharisee  humbug, 

Plays  a  life-long  game  of  brag. 
His  words  all  silk  and  velvet. 

And  his  heart  but  a  coffee  bag  ! 

"  And  I  turned  me  into  the  Hoffman, 

For  my  heart  was  beginning  to  sink. 
And  I  told  the  tale  to  a  comrade, 

And  it  "rung  him  in"  for  a  drink! 
And  as  we  imbibed  the  cocktails, 

I  then  and  there  confessed, 
When  I  thought  how  I  liked  the  poison, 

That   I   was  as  bad  as  the  rest  !  " 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  73 

Then  Miss  N.,  being  pressed  to  sing,  gave  us  that  beautiful 
serenade  by  Samuel  Lover,  found  in  "  Handy  Andy  "  : 

It  is  the  chime  the  hour  draws  near, 

When  you  and  I  must  sever, 
Alas,  it  may  be  many  a  year, 

And  it  may  be  forever  ! 

You  said  my  heart  was  cold  and  stern. 

You  doubted  love  when  strongest, 
In  future  years  you'll  live  to  learn. 

Proud  hearts  can  love  the  longest. 

Oh,  sometimes  think  when  press'd  to  hear. 

When  flippant  tongues  beset  thee. 
That  all  must  love  thee  when  thou'rt  near. 

But  I  can  ne'er  forget  thee. 

The  changeful  sand  doth  only  know, 

The  shallow  tide  and  latest  ; 
The  rocks  have  mark'd  its  highest  flow. 

The  deepest  and  the  greatest. 

And  deeper  still  the  flood-marks  grow. 

So  since  the  hour  I  met  thee. 
The  more  the  tide  of  time  doth  flow, 

The  less  can  I  forget  thee  ! 

Tills  tender  love-song  brought  upon  us  a  more  quiet  mood 
and  we  lapsed  from  gay  to  grave,  and  parted  for  the  night 
with  the  sentiment  of  sweet  hymns — hallowed  by  fond  recol- 
lections of  home  and  sanctuary — on  our  lips  and  in  our  hearts. 
One  by  one  my  fellow-travelers  retired  to  their  state-rooms, 
while  I,  in  a  reflective  mood,  still  kept  my  seat  on  the  deck 
and  gazed  on  the  moon,  the  stars  and  on  the  silvery  sea.  I 
was  reminded  of  those  lines  of  Tom  Moore  : 

See  how  beneath  the  moonbeam's  smile 

Yon  little  billow  heaves  its  breast  ; 
It  foams  and  sparkles  for  a  while. 

And,  murmuring,  then  subsides  to  rest. 

So  man,   the  sport  of  bliss  and  care. 

Rises  on  Time's  eventful  sea. 
And,  having  swell'd  a  moment  there. 

Thus  melts  into  eternitv. 


74  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Spanish  Main. 

Hark,   do  you  hear  the  sea  ?     The  murmuring  surge, 
That  on  the  unnumber'd  idle  pebbles  chafes  ? 

— King  Lear. 

THE  Spanish  Main  "  is,  technically  speaking,  the  Diain- 
land,  or  coast,  of  that  part  of  South  America  skirting 
the  Caribbean  Sea  from  Honduras  on  the  west,  to  the  Gulf  of 
Paria  on  the  east,  a  distance,  following  the  coast  line,  of  about 
two  thousand  miles.  It  is  said  by  lexicographers  that  this 
coast  received  the  name  of  "  The  Spanish  Main  "  from  early 
English  voyagers  to  the  West  Indies  and  colonists  in  those 
islands,  they  referring  to  it  as  the  main-land  discovered  and 
possessed  by  the  Spaniards  long  before.  That  this  is  the 
origin  of  the  name,  or  that  it  only  refers  to  the  land  or  coast, 
is  a  mooted  point,  as  many  historians  speak  of  "  The  Spanish 
Main  "  as  that  part  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  or  indeed  the  whole 
of  it,  that  washes  the  shores  of  what  is  now  known  as  Central 
America,  United  States  of  Colombia,  and  Venezuela,  and 
which  was  first  sailed  by  Columbus,  Americus  Vespucius  and 
other  Spanish  navigators  and  explorers.  In  this  view  it  receives 
its  name  of  "  The  Spanish  Main,"  in  the  signification  that  the 
main  is  the  ocean  or  sea.  Many  historical  accounts,  and 
romances  without  number,  have  been  written  about  the  pirates 
and  buccaneers  of  "  The  Spanish  Main,"  and  these  were  the 
wild  sea-rovers  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  that  plundered  and  burnt 
the  rich  Spanish  galleons  as  they  sailed  from  their  South 
American  possessions  loaded  with  precious  metals  to  enrich 
the  sovereigns  and  grandees  of  Spain, 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  75 

While  there  is  a  decided  distinction  in  the  original  significa- 
tion or  meaning  of  the  terms  "  buccaneers"  and  "  pirates,"  there 
was  but  l^tle  difference  in  the  manner  in  which  these  gentle- 
men of  the  quarter-deck  conducted  themselves  while  pursuing 
their  adopted  profession. 

We  hear  of  a  noted  pirate  named  Morgan,  who  was  a 
Welshman,  and  had  his  headquarters  on  the  island  of  Jamaica, 
He  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century ,^ 
and  became  such  a  terror  to  the  merchant  marine  of  England, 
and  became  so  rich  withal,  that  Charles  Second,  the  "  Merry 
Monarch  "  of  England,  knighted  him  and  made  him  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  where  he  lived  to  a 
good  old  age,  and  died  full  of  honor,  and,  of  course,  in  the 
consolations  of  religion.  Some  of  his  deeds,  when  he  first 
became  a  freebooter,  were  so  desperate  as  to  seem  the  frenzy 
of  a  madman.  Once  with  a  small  boat,  manned  only  by  thirty 
men,  he  captured  the  ship  of  the  vice-admiral  of  the  Spanish 
fleet !  In  the  darkness  of  the  night  they  rowed  with  muffled 
oars  to  the  side  of  the  great  ship.  While  doing  so,  Morgan 
himself  was  busy  boring  holes  in  the  bottom  of  his  boat,  so 
that  when  the  battle  commenced  his  men  would  fight  with 
greater  desperation,  knowing  that  the  only  means  of  escape  or 
saving  their  own  lives  would  be  in  defeating  the  Spaniards 
and  possessing  themselves  of  the  ship. 

Cutlass  in  hand  they  climbed  up  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  cut 
down  the  sentries  before  an  alarm  could  be  given,  and,  before 
the  vice-admiral  knew  that  an  enemy  was  on  board,  Morgan 
was  in  his  cabin  holding  a  pistol  to  his  head  and  demanding 
unconditional  surrender!  But  Morgan  finally  commanded  a 
fleet  of  fifteen  small  vessels,  and  a  force  of  men  numbering 
over  one  thousand,  and  with  these  he  took  cities  on  the  main- 
land, and  loaded  his  ships  with  the  gold,  and  silver,  and  mer- 
chandise of  which  he  plundered  them. 


76  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

Sometimes,  when  he  had  taken  possession  of  a  city,  he 
demanded  a  sum  as  ransom  that  was  so  enormous  that  the 
citizens  said  that  it  could  not  be  raised,  but  after  a  f^  of  them 
were  tortured  most  horribly,  the  ransom  money  was  invariabh' 
produced. 

But  to  my  mind  the  most  interesting  history  connected  with 
these  beautiful  seas,  are  the  annals  of  the  French  buccaneers. 
They  were  originally  a  simple  company  of  French  settlers  who 
established  themselves  on  some  of  the  smaller  islands  of  the 
West  Indies  shortly  after  their  discovery  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  supported  themselves  comfortably  in  the  primitive  occu- 
pation of  hunting  wild  cattle,  horses,  buffalo  and  deer.  After 
a  time  they  turned  their  attention  to  commerce,  and  began  to 
tan  the  hides  of  these  animals  for  exportation,  and  which  they 
sold  to  the  Dutch  trading  vessels.  They  also  cured  the  flesh 
and  sold  it  to  mariners  and  others.  The  original  inhabitants 
of  these  islands  were  the  Caribee  Indians,  and  they,  being  can- 
nibals, were  accustomed  to  cut  their  prisoners  of  war  in  pieces 
and  cure  their  flesh  upon  a  species  of  hurdle  or  wooden  grate, 
called  barbacoa,  and  then  smoking  them  under  open  sheds 
called  boucans.  So,  as  these  French  settlers  treated  their  beef 
and  venison  as  the  Caribees  did  their  prisoners,  they  were 
called  boucaniers  or  buccaneers.  But  soon  the  greedy  Span- 
iards, jealous  of  their  happiness  and  prosperity,  began  to  per- 
secute them  and  finally  drove  them  away  from  their  homes  in 
these  smaller  islands.  They  took  refuge  in  the  island  of  San 
Domingo,  then  called  Hispaniola,  and  for  a  long  time  pursued 
their  vocation  as  herdsmen  and  hunters  in  the  immense  unex- 
plored interior  of  this  great  island,  without  their  existence 
tiicre  being  known  to  the  Spaniards,  who  had  settlements  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  and  who  claimed  the  whole  of 
San  Dominpfo. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  77 

It  was  not  until  they  had  become  very  numerous,  and  had 
pushed  their  hunting-grounds  up  to  their  plantations  and  set- 
tlements, that  the  Spanish  colonists  learnt  the  existence  and 
felt  the  power  of  the  buccaneers.  Then  the  Spaniards  called 
to  their  aid  troops  from  Spain  and  Cuba  to  expel  the  intruders 
from  the  island.  For  twenty  years  the  struggle  between  the 
buccaneers  and  the  Spanish  troops  was  continued,  and  all  the 
cunning  and  inhuman  cruelty  for  which  the  Spanish  nation  is 
noted  was  brought  to  bear  on  these  French  boiicauiers  who, 
up  to  this  time,  were  simple  herdsmen  and  hunters.  The 
Spaniards  poisoned  and  otherwise  destroyed  their  game,  hop- 
ing thus  to  starve  them  out  of  the  island. 

Shakespeare  makes  Shylock  say  to  his  Christian  enemies, 
"  The  villainy  you  teach  me,  I  will  execute,  and  it  shall  go 
hard  but  I  will  bettc7'  the  instruction." 

So  it  was  with  these  buccaneers ;  driven  to  desperation  by 
the  persecutions  and  cruelties  of  the  Spaniards,  they  united 
with  certain  English  rovers,  or  fillibjisters,  as  they  were  called 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  commenced  a  series  of  depredations  on 
the  vessels  sailing  under  the  Spanish  flag,  and  were  so  success- 
ful that  they  soon  became  greatly  feared.  The  villainy  taught 
them  by  the  Spanish  they  began  to  execute,  and  in  their 
ferocity  and  cold-blooded  cruelties  they  "  bettered  the 
instruction." 

This  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  17th  century,  when  Charles 
II.  was  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  Louis  XIV.  on  the  throne  of 
France,  and  William  III.  on  the  throne  of  England.  Each  of 
these  nations  had  great  interests  in  these  West  India  Islands. 
The  buccaneers  were  led  by  brave  and  fearless  men,  and  their 
success  was  so  great  against  the  Spaniards,  and  in  maintaining 
their  foothold  on  the  island  of  San  Domingo,  that  France 
hastened  to  recognize  them,  and  appointed  a  governor  to  repre- 
sent France  in  the  ownership  of  one-half  of  the  island.     And 


y8  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  king  of  France  was  not  too  honest  to  receive  a  tenth  of 
the  value  of  all  the  prizes  taken  by  the  buccaneers,  which  was 
regularly  paid  by  them  to  the  governor  of  their  part  of  the 
island.  As  this  is  history,  it  can  also  be  stated,  without  fear 
of  contradiction,  that  the  governor  appointed  by  Louis  XIV. 
over  French  San  Domingo  was  a  famous  buccaneer  named 
"Ducasse"!  One  of  the  strongholds  of  the  buccaneers 
was  the  island  of  Tortuga,  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the 
island  of  Hayti  (or  Santo  Domingo,  as  it  was  then  called),  about 
seven  miles  off  from  the  main  island.  This  island  of  Tortuga 
was  forty  miles  in  circumference,  and  was  surrounded,  except 
on  the  southern  side,  by  a  chain  of  rocks  called  "  Coles  de 
Fer,"  and  which  made  it,  practically,  unapproachable,  except 
on  the  side  next  the  island  of  Hayti,  which  is  called  Tortuga 
Channel.  "Tortuga"  merely  means  "tortoise,"  or  "turtle," 
and  there  are  several  other  islands  in  these  tropical  seas  by  the 
same  name.  The  one  above  alluded  to  is  the  one  that  the 
English  recently  threatened  to  take  from  Hayti  unless  certain 
old  claims  were  settled.  Here,  in  this  almost  impregnable 
island  fortress,  the  buccaneers  lived  for  many  years,  and  were 
never  conquered.  Peace  was  finally  made  with  them  by  recog- 
nizing their  rights  and  appointing  their  chieftains  to  lucrative 
and  honorable  positions  under  the  Spanish,  French  and  Eng- 
lish governments  in  these  West  India  Islands.  Many  of  their 
descendants  still  live  on  the  islands  and  are  far  from  feeling 
ashamed  of  their  noted  ancestors.  Among  the  names  of  these 
noted  chiefs,  whose  fearless  and  bloody  deeds  made  them  the 
terror  of  the  seas,  we  find  those  of  Montbars,  Laurent,  and 
John  Hepburn;  the  first  a  Scotchman  of  good  family;  the 
second  a  Frenchman  of  royal  birth — said  to  have  been  the  son 
of  the  Man  with  the  Iron  Mask  and  nephew  to  Louis  XIV. — 
and  the  third  an  Englishman  who  bought  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Santo  Domingo,  but  who  made  his  land  operations  second- 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  7q 

.ary  to  his  more  profitable  ventures  on  the  sea  in  plundering 
Spanish  galleons. 

The  romances  of  the  Spanish  Main  also  tell  of  a  certain 
"  Nativa  del  Roco,"  a  beautiful  girl,  granddaughter  of  Hep- 
burn, the  Englishman,  born  on  the  island  of  Tortuga,  and 
almost  worshiped  by  the  buccaneers  as  their  good  angel,  and 
who  often  accompanied  them  in  their  desperate  encounters, 
and  who  seemed  to  have  borne  a  charmed  life — a  sort  of  a 
Mascot  on  shipboard,  as  it  were.  But  this  may  have  been 
only  a  creation  of  the  romancer's  brain,  and  it  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  speculate  upon  or  investigate  the  truth  or  falsity  of 
the  story.  There  is  enough  in  the  veritable  history  of  these 
buccaneers  of  the  Spanish  Main  to  fully  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
.all  lovers  of  the  horrible,  or  to  arouse  in  the  minds  of  all 
humanitarians  a  sense  of  gratitude  that  a  better  era  has 
■  dawned  upon  the  world,  and  that  no  longer  do  inen  commit 
these  dreadful  and  wholesale  murders  on  the  ocean — that  we 
may  sail  upon  these  beautiful  seas  having  no  dangers  to  con- 
tend with  but  those  of  the  elements,  thanking  God  that  the 
•days  of  pirates  and  buccaneers  have  passed  away  forever! 


GUZMAN     Hr.ANCCJ,     PRESIDENT    OF    VENEZUELA. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  8 1 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Venezuela. 

AT  daylight  I  was  aroused  by  Mr.  Wilkinson,  who  informed 
me  that  the  mountains  of  Venezuela  were  in  sight. 
There  they  were  in  their  majesty,  rising  four  to  five  thousand 
feet  right  out  of  the  Caribbean  Sea!  Venezuela  is  pronounced 
in  the  Spanish  in  four  syllables  instead  of  five,  viz.,  "  Ven-ez- 
wee-la,"  with  the  accent  on  the  third  syllable.  Some  of  the 
islands  on  the  eastern  coast  were  discovered  by  Columbus  in 
1498,  and  the  whole  coast  was  explored  the  following  year  by 
Francis  de  Ojeda  and  Americus  Vespucci.  The  name  Ven- 
ezuela means  "  Little  Venice/'  and  was  given  to  it  by  these 
two  last-named  Spanish  navigators,  who  found  in  Lake  Mara- 
caibo  a  number  of  Indian  villages,  built  on  piles  on  the  borders 
of  the  lake,  which  so  reminded  them  of  Venice  that  they 
named  that  portion  of  the  country  Venezuela,  or  Little  Venice, 
and  subsequently  the  whole  country  was  called  Venezuela.  It 
comprises  an  area  of  439,120  square  miles,  being  about  as  large 
as  our  two  largest  states,  Texas  and  California,  combined.  It 
has,  at  present,  a  total  population  of  a  little  over  two  millions 
of  inhabitants.  It  is  very  mountainous,  and  some  parts  of  it 
are  yet  unexplored,  but  are  known  to  be  inhabited  b}'  bar- 
barous races  of  Indians.  Some  of  the  mountain  peaks  reach 
an  altitude  of  15,000  feet,  but  they  generally  range  from  3,000 
to  9,000  feet  in  height.  Back  of  the  coast  ranges,  and  along 
the  great  river  Orinoco,  are  immense  grassy  plains,  or  prairies, 
where  vast  herds  of  horned  cattle,  horses  and  mules  roam  in  a 
G 


82  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

wild  state,  and  are  hunted  for  their  hides  and  hair,  which 
articles  form  quite  an  important  item  in  the  list  of  exports  of 
Venezuela. 

The  climate  varies  with  the  elevation.  In  the  low  regions, 
not  rising  above  2,000  feet  from  the  sea,  it  is  very  hot.  At  an 
elevation  of  from  2,000  to  7,000  feet,  the  climate  is  delightful 
and  healthy.  But  where  the  country  rises  above  7,000  feet,  it 
generally  becomes  uninhabitable  because  of  the  perpetual 
mists  which  hang  over  these  regions,  and  the  terrible  hail  and 
snow-storms  which  visit  them. 

Like  other  tropical  countries,  it  has  but  two  seasons,  the  wet 
and  the  dry.  The  dry  season  is  called  summer,  and  usually 
extends  from  about  the  middle  of  November  to  the  middle  of 
April,  while  the  rainy  season,  or  winter,  fills  up  the  balance  of 
the  year.  It  is  a  very  fertile  country,  and  is  certainly  well 
watered,  for,  besides  the  great  river  Orinoco,  with  its  course 
of  1,500  miles,  and  400  navigable  tributary  streams,  there  are 
230  rivers  that  flow  into  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  gulfs  of 
Venezuela  and  Paria,  and  several  hundred  other  lesser  streams 
flowing  into  Maracaibo  and  other  lakes. 

Some  of  the  products  of  Venezuela,  in  its  vegetable  king- 
dom, are,  coffee,  cocoa,  cotton,  indigo,  tobacco,  cacao  (or 
chocolate),  sugar-cane,  plantains,  maize,  wheat,  and  a  great 
variety  of  tropical  fruits.  Only  an  exceedingly  small  portion 
of  the  whole  area  of  Venezuela  is  cultivated,  yet  the  export 
trade  in  the  products  mentioned,  especialh'  coffee  and  cacao, 
is  c^uite  large  and  rapidly  increasing.  It  is  estimated  that 
350,000  acres  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  coffee  shrub, 
and  55,000  acres  to  the  cacao,  or  chocolate  tree. 

The  exceeding  fertility  of  the  soil  will  always  be  one  of  the 
great  and  lasting  sources  of  wealth  in  the  country.  The 
mineral  wealth  of  Venezuela  is  also  ver}-  great,  but  its  immense 
primeval   forests,  opulent  with   their  varieties  of  rare  and  valu- 


SCENE    IN    VENEZUELA. THE    FERN-PALM. 


84  1'HE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

able  woods,  are  more  interesting  to  the  traveler  than  the  mines 
or  the  plantations.  Here  are  found  mahogany,  satin-wood, 
ebony,  rosewood,  caoittcJioiic,  or  India-rubber  tree,  as  well  as 
many  very  valuable  dye-woods,  gum-trees,  and  medicinal 
plants.  Here,  also,  is  the  celebrated  ciuchotia-ir&e,  the  bark  of 
which  is  so  well  known  under  the  name  of  Peruvian  bark. 
This  valuable  medicinal  bark  was  used  by  the  Peruvian  Indians 
-centuries  ago,  and  was  introduced  to  medical  science  through- 
out the  world  through  the  agency  of  the  Countess  Cinchon,  in 
the  17th  century.  She  was  the  wife  of  the  Viceroy  of  Peru, 
and  having,  by  its  use,  been  cured  of  an  intermittent  fever,  on 
her  return  to  Spain  she  gave  its  virtues  wide  notoriety,  and 
•assisted  largely  in  extending  the  knowledge  of  the  curative 
properties  of  this  wonderful  product  of  South  America.  Since 
that  time  the  tree  has  been  known  as  the  "  Cinchona,"  and  its 
.native  name  has  been  lost  sight  of. 

The  region  below  the  level  of  3,000  feet  is  the  country  of 
the  palms — the  sago  palm,  the  cJiiquicJiiqne,  and  \.\\&  yagua, 
whose  fibrous  tufts  are  converted  into  cordage,  while  the 
yagiia  also  yields  an  excellent  oil.  Then  there  are  the  giant 
royal  palm,  the  wax  palm,  the  fan  palm  and  the  cocoanut 
palm,  from  which  cocoanut  oil  is  manufactured,  and  several 
other  varieties  of  palms.  But  these  great  forests  are  rich,  also, 
in  the  animal  kingdom.  Any  number  of  circuses  could  be  well 
stocked  with  "  rare  and  wonderful  animals,"  from  the  forest  of 
Venezuela,  "  each  one  of  which  alone  would  be  worth  the  price 
of  admission."  The  jaguar,  panther,  tiger,  tapir,  black  bear, 
peccary,  badger,  and  fifteen  varieties  of  monkeys  constantly  on 
hand.  Also,  a  very  fine  line  of  sloths,  armadillos,  and  several 
varieties  of  ant-eaters,  while  in  serpents,  a  varied  assortment 
of  boa-constrictors,  varying  in  length  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet 
( to  suit  customers),  the  ca}man,  the  iguana,  the  basilisk  and 
chameleon  can  alwaws  be  found  in  the  forests  of  the  mountains 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  85 

or  the  swamps  of  the  lowlands.  The  triiga  venados,  or  deer 
swallower,  is  an  interesting  reptile  for  a  pet,  while  fifteen  other 
varieties  of  large  snakes  —  most  of  which  are  venomous  — 
immense  spiders,  bats  and  centipedes,  help  to  form  this  happy 
family  inhabiting  the  wilds  of  Venezuela. 

A  few  words  relating  to  the  history  of  Venezuela  and  its 
present  government  can  scarcely  be  avoided  in  giving  an 
account  of  a  visit  to  its  capital  and  some  of  its  sea-ports.  And 
yet,  how  difficult  it  is  to  epitomize  a  history  so  remarkable  and 
varied  as  hers.  As  I  reflect  upon  the  struggles  of  these  Soutli 
American  nations  to  free  themselves  from  the  Spanish  yoke,, 
after  having  visited  the  scenes  of  many  of  their  battles  with, 
their  relentless  enemies,  and  having  seen  the  beautiful  and. 
costly  monuments  erected  to  the  memory  of  their  patriotic 
dead,  I  am  filled  with  admiration  for  their  patriotism  and 
valor,  and  accord  to  them  much  of  the  same  noble  spirit  that 
animated  our  own  forefathers  in  their  long  struggle  to  free 
themselves  from  a  foreign  yoke.  The  name  of  Bolivar,  the 
liberator  of  Venezuela,  is  honored  and  venerated  there  as  our 
own  Washington  is  here. 

The  "United  States  of  V^enezuela"  is  now  a  republic,  and 
has  been  for  the  last  fifteen  to  eighteen  years,  governed  wisely 
by  Guzman  Blanco,  who  is  still  the  president.  July  5,  181 1,. 
was  the  time  that  Venezuela  proclaimed  its  independence,  and 
the  day  is  still  celebrated  with  great  enthusiasm  every  year,, 
much  in  the  same  manner  as  we  celebrate  the  4th  of  July,  the 
birthday  of  our  own  nationality.  But  Spain  did  not  give  up 
this  rich  country  without  a  protracted  struggle,  lasting  until 
1823,  when  she  reluctanth^  relinquished  it. 

But  to  return  to  my  ship,  which  is  now  rapidly  approaching 
the  harbor  of  Puerto  CaSello.  We  had  to  lay-to  off  the  harbor 
waiting  till  sunrise,  so  that  in  accordance  with  the  regulations 
of  all   fortified    harbors    in    Spanish    countries   we   could    then 


SCENE    IN    VRXEZL'KI.A. THE  .COCOA-PAl.M  . 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  87 

enter.  I  sat  and  watched  the  sun  rise  from  out  of  the  sea. 
What  a  glorious  sight  I  The  mountains  have  a  purple  hue. 
Some  of  the  taller  peaks  were  above  the  clouds. 

"Night's  candles  are  burnt  out,  and  jocund  day 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain-tops." 

Puerto  Cabello  lies  in  a  half-moon  or  half-circle  of  the 
mountains.  It  is  an  excellent  harbor,  defended  from  storms  by 
a  long  sandspit,  and  defended  (  by  courtesy  onl}-)  from  enemies 
b)'  a  venerable  fort,  valuable  now  only  in  memory  of  its  past 
history,  or  as  it  serves  as  a  prison  for  a  score  or  two  of  miser- 
able offenders  against  the  law  or  policy  of  the  State.  Puerto 
Cabello  has  a  population  of  10,000.  It  is  nestled  under  the 
shadow  of  the  great  mountains  and  has  the  long  narrow  streets 
peculiar  to  all  Spanish  cities.  The  inhabitants  are  of  all  colors 
and  all  speak  the  Spanish  language  only.  The  climate  is  hot, 
and,  at  certain  seasons,  quite  unhealthy.  Being  one  of  the 
best  harbors  on  the  coast,  it  is  a  place  of  considerable  import- 
ance. The  imports  here  amount  to  about  five  millions  of 
dollars  a  year,  while  the  exports  are  nearly  double  that  sum. 
In  company  with  Mr.  Livingston  and  his  son  I  took  a  carriage  * 
drive  four  or  five  miles  back  into  the  country  to  a  pretty  place 
called  San  Esteban,  which  is  the  country  residence  of  six  or 
eight  German  families  who  keep  stores  in  Puerto  Cabello. 
Our  driver  was  black,  and  as  he  spoke  no  English,  and  as  we 
haggled  over  but  a  few  words  of  Spanish,  the  continuity  of 
vocal  communication  from  the  inside  to  the  outside  seat  was 
frequently  broken,  and  soon,  b\'  mutual  consent,  born  of 
necessity,  was  abandoned  altogether.  But  our  colored  brother, 
though  speechless,  was  politely  mindful  of  our  being  "strangers 
within  his  gates,"  and  frequently  stopped  to  point  out  a  fine 
mountain  view,  or  to  cull  a  tropical  flower  or  plant,  which  he 
presented  to  us  with  an  easy  grace,  as  if  to  say,  "Speech  is 
silver,  silence  is   golden,   and   1  can  onl}'  speak  to  you   in  the 


88  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

language  of  flowers."  But  he  didn't  forget  to  exact>  four 
dollars  for  the  two  hours'  ride,  all  the  same  ! 

Along  the  road-side  we  saw  occasionally  a  small  pile  of 
stones  and  a  rude  wooden  cross  stuck  up  beside  it.  These 
marked  the  graves  of  some  poor  fellows  who  had  met  violent 
deaths  and  were  buried  where  they  were  killed.  A  Venezuelan 
on  our  steamer,  who  imbibed  a  good  deal  from  divers  bottles 
which  he  had  in  his  state-room,  told  us  how  that  he  was  travel- 
ino"  on  horseback  with  a  friend  one  day  in  Venezuela,  and 
that  they  had  but  one  bottle  of  brandy  between  them.  Now, 
if  his  friend  had  the  same  amiable  weakness  for  drinking  as 
the  narrator  of  the  story  had,  this  one  bottle  of  brandy  must 
have  assumed  the  same  discouraging  outlook  to  them  as  did 
the  cruse  of  oil  to  the  widow  when  another  individual  pro- 
posed to  share  it  with  her.  However,  as  the  distance  they  had 
to  travel  was  over  ten  miles,  they  agreed  that  they  would  only 
take  a  drink  when  they  came  to  one  of  these  wayside  crosses. 
For  a  time  all  went  well,  the  crosses  were  frequent,  and  so 
were  the  drinks;  but  after  a  time  they  seemed  to  have  struck 
a  very  peaceful  piece  of  road — not  a  cross  was  to  be  seen ! 
Things  were  getting  serious,  till  suddenly  one  of  these  "  two 
souls  with  but  a  single  thought,"  leaped  from  his  horse,  spread 
out  his  arms  in  the  shape  of  a  cross  and  said,  in  effect,  and  in 
Spanish,  "  Eureka  !  Let's  take  a  drink!"  How  can  I  doubt 
the  story  when  I  have  seen  the  crosses? 

Returning  to  the  harbor  we  found  that  two  small  vessels 
had  just  come  from  "  Los  Roccas,"  a  number  of  dangerous 
reefs  and  sand-isknds  about  seventy-five  miles  north  of  the 
main-land,  and  were  loaded  with  "  booby "  eggs  and  turtles. 
The  "  booby  "  is  a  bird  similar  to  the  sea-gull,  and  its  eggs  are 
gathered  at  Los  Roccas  in  great  quantities,  and  sold  at  the 
sea-port  towns  for  food.  One  of  the  vessels  had  twenty  thou- 
sand,  and    the    other    twelve    thousand    of  these   eggs.     The 


90  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

native  colored  women  had  already  bought  many,  and  had 
boiled  them  hard  and  were  carrying  around  on  their  heads 
trays  full  of  them  to  sell.  I  bought  one,  and  in  regular  pic- 
nic style,  picked  off  the  shell,  and,  having  seasoned  it  with  a 
pinch  of  salt  and  pepper  mixed,  bit  into  it  rather  gingerly  at 
first,  but  finding  it  of  excellent  flavor,  I  finished  it  and  another 
one  with  a  good  deal  of  gusto.  These  eggs  are  just  the  size  of 
our  common  hen's  eggs,  and  sell  for  eighty  cents  per  hundred. 

The  forty-one  turtles  which  formed  part  of  the  cargo  of 
these  little  vessels,  were  transferred  to  our  steamer,  and  we 
carried  them  to  New  York.  The}'  varied  in  weight  from  fifty 
to  two  hundred  pounds  each,  and  as  they  lay  helplessly  on 
their  backs  on  the  main  deck  of  our  vessel,  they  were  kept 
alive  by  being  thoroughly  drenched  with  sea-water  every  few 
hours  during  the  passage  to  New  York. 

Our  steamer  was  being  unloaded  of  a  portion  of  her  cargo 
of  general  merchandise  by  a  large  gang  of  half-naked  negroes, 
and  the  little  mules  were  drawing  it  away  from  the  dock  in 
big-wheeled  carts.  Each  of  these  little  animals  has  to  draw 
nine  barrels  of  flour  at  a  load,  which  seems  almost  impossible 
when  you  reflect  that  he  is  himself  almost  small  enough  to  be 
thrust  into  an  empty  barrel.  Water  is  also  carried  on  the 
backs  of  these  wonderfully  strong,  tireless  and  sure-footed 
beasts.  Two  full-sized  barrels,  full  of  water,  are  hung  over  his 
back — one  on  each  side — and  with  them  he  will  walk  along, 
the  patient  slave  of  his  master  or  driver.  It  is  a  queer  sight 
to  see  a  line  of  these  "  burros,"  as  they  are  called,  coming  in 
from  the  country  Indian  file,  loaded  with  bags  of  coffee.  There 
are  but  one  hundred  and  fourteen  miles  of  railroad  in  all 
Venezuela,  and  the  carrying  of  the  greater  portion  of  all  the 
products  of  the  country  to  the  cities  and  to  the  sea-ports,  is 
done  by  these  sturd)-  little  animals.  In  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things,  mules  were  certainly  created  expressly  for  use  in  moun- 
tainous countries. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  91 

While  our  steamer  was  being  unloaded  of  merchandise,  and 
again  loaded,  partly  with  coffee,  hides,  cocoa,  etc.,  we  had 
abundant  time  to  stroll  around  the  town  and  see  the  many 
sights  curious  to  Northern  eyes.  The  plaza  is  quite  a  preten- 
tious'one,  and  though  not  well-shaded,  seems  to  be  well-cared 
for,  and,  with  its  plants  and  flowers,  presented  a  pleasing 
appearance.  There  are  public  baths  by  the  sea-shore  inclosed 
with  strong  palings,  like  a  poultry  yard,  as  a  protection  from 
sharks.  But  the  "  Banos  del  Mar"  of  Puerto  Cabello,  like 
those  I  saw  in  Havana,  seem  to  be  neglected  and  but  little 
used.  Cleanliness  is  far  from  being  one  of  the  cardinal  virtues 
of  the  inhabitants  of  these  hot  countries.  The  vultures  seem 
to  be  the  chief  scavengers  in  and  about  the  town,  and  in 
virtue  of  their  office  are  exempt  from  serving  as  targets  to 
sportsmen.  The  public  market  was  well  worth  a  visit.  Here 
we  saw  all  kinds  of  vegetables  indigenous  to  the  soil,  a  great 
variety  of  parrots,  and  troopials,  and  other  bright-hued  birds. 
We  were  importuned  to  buy  monkeys,  which  our  good  angels 
protected  us  from  doing.  The  tiger-skins  were  more  seductive 
and  less  noisy,  while  the  celebrated  "  casava  "  bread  was  the 
most  attractive  of  all.  It  is  made  of  the  root  called  ynca 
inandioca,  which,  when  grated,  is  put  into  a  bag  and  the  juice, 
which  is  poisonous,  is  pressed  out ;  after  which  the  grated  root 
is  rolled  out  into  thin  round  slices  twenty-eight  inches  in 
diameter  and  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  thick.  After  being 
dried  in  the  sun  it  is  ready  to  be  eaten.  I  ate  some  of  it  and 
found  it  quite  palatable.     But  I  don't  hanker  after  it. 

The  market-house  is  quite  large,  being,  I  should  judge,  150 
feet  long  by  50  or  60  feet  wide.  It  was  filled  with  a  chattering 
crowd  of  people  of  all  colors,  and  all  speaking  Spanish.  They 
seemed  good-natured  and  even  jolly,  and  the  women  really 
seemed  quite  inclined  to  flirt,  which  filled  me  with  alarm,  and  I 
urged  upon  my  less  timid  companions  the  importance  of  hurry- 
ing back  to  our  ark  of  safety,  the  steamer  "  Philadelphia." 


92  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Canal  Victims  ! — La  Guayra. 

A  S  we  lay  at  the  dock  at  Puerto  Cabello,  taking  in  our 
'^  ^  cargo  of  coffee,  the  French  mail  steamer  "  Ville  de  Mar- 
seilles," came  in  and  dropped  her  anchor  within  one  hundred 
feet  and  right  abreast  of  us.  She  plies  between  Havre  and 
Colon,  touching  at  several  of  the  West  India  Islands,  and 
also  at  La  Guayra  and  Porto  Cabello  on  the  Venezuelan  coast. 
She  is  a  large  steamer,  being  three  hundred  and  two  feet  long 
and  thirty-seven  feet  beam.  Her  carrying  capacity  is  two 
thousand  tons,  and  she  has  accommodations  for  eighty-four 
cabin  passengers  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  second  cabin  and 
steerage.  She  had  a  large  number  of  Frenchmen,  and  fifty  or 
more  "Jamaica  niggers"  all  going  to  Colon  as  laborers  on  De 
Lessep's  canal.  Poor  fellows,  I  pitied  them,  for  I  could  look 
upon  them  in  no  other  light  than  as  "  lambs  led  to  the  slaugh- 
ter." Ignorant  of  the  deadly  influences  of  the  climate,  and 
deluded  by  promises  of  high  wages,  they  go  in  droves  to 
labor  on  the  great  ship  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama- 
They  go,  but. few,  if  any,  ever  return  !  Exposure  to  the  deadly 
miasma  of  the  night  and  terrible  heat  of  the  day,  with  insuffi- 
cient food  and  impure  water,  too  ignorant  to  use  precaution  or 
to  practice  any  healing  methods,  the  fever  makes  them  its  easy 
victims,  and  they  die  off  like  sheep  with  the  murrain,  and  are 
buried  like  dogs.  A  few  of  the  more  intelligent  and  cleanly  ot 
the  laborers,  especially  7\mericans,  survive  to  escape,  and  the 
tales  they  tell  of   the   daily  horrors   witnessed  on    that  canal, 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  93 

would  be  almost  too  incredible  for  belief,  if  not  amply  corrob- 
orated by  many  others  who  have  been  witnesses  of  the  same 
dreadful  state  of  affairs.  And  so,  as  I  look  at  these  honest 
French  peasants  and  at  these  fat  and  laughing  "  Jamaica  nig- 
gers" on  this  great  French  steamer,  I  repeat,  "  Poor  fellows, 
they  are  like  lambs  led  to  the  slaughter,  they  will  lay  their 
bones  on  the  banks  of  the  De  Lessep's  canal,  and  meet  their 
death  '  unwept,  unhonored  and  unsung' !  " 

Leaving  Puerto  Cabello  at  nightfall,  we  steamed  away  for 
La  Guayra,  about  seventy  or  eighty  miles  easterly,  which  place 
we  reached  the  next  morning.  La  Guayra  is  the  sea-port  of 
the  City  of  Caracas,  the  capital  of  Venezuela,  which  lies  seven 
miles  back  from  the  sea,  and  over  the  coast  range  of  moun- 
tains, on  a  lovely  plain  called  the  Valley  of  Caracas.  La 
Guayra,  unlike  Puerto  Cabello,  has  no  harbor  at  all,  and  is 
entirely  exposed  to  all  northerly  winds.  The  coast  line  is  at 
almost  all  seasons  of  the  year  crested  with  foam  from  the 
breakers  which  go  tumbling  and  roaring  upon  it.  But  there  is 
good  anchorage  here,  and  vessels  lie  in  safety  except  in  times 
of  storm,  when  they  have  to  slip  their  cables  and  put  to  sea. 
As  we  came  to  anchor  within  about  a  half  a  mile  from  shore, 
the  mountains  towered  above  us  to  the  height  of  nine  thou- 
sand feet,  and  seemingly  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  from 
the  deck  of  our  steamer.  The  mountains  here  are  very  steep 
and  gloomy  looking.  There  are  on  the  face  of  them  occasional 
patches  of  green  that  look  as  if  they  might  be  in  a  state  of 
cultivation,  but,  for  the  most  part  they  seem  to  be  densely 
wooded.  The  city,  which  has  but  about  ten  thousand  inhab- 
itants, is  irregularly  built,  partly  in  the  valley  by  the  side  of 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  partly  up  the  foot-hills  of  the  moun- 
tain. The  streets  are  exceedingly  narrow,  and  where  they 
lead  up  the  foot-hills  are  very  steep.  There  are  but  few  good 
residences   here,  nine-tenths  of  the  population   seeming  to  be, 


94 


THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


like  the  children  of  Gibbeon — hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water — and  live  in  adobe  huts  or  thatched  cottages,  with  but 
very  few  of  what  we  would  call  the  common  necessaries  of  life. 

Along  the  shore,  extending  the  entire  length  of  this  strag- 
gling city,  is  a  strong  sea-wall,  built  to  protect  it  from  the  long 
heavy  swells  sent  in  by  the  trade-winds.  On  an  elevation  to 
the  right  of  the  city,  and  overlooking  the  entire  town  and 
harbor — if  the  anchorage  can  be  so  called — is  an  ancient-look- 
ing fort  built  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  old  colonial  days,  as  a 
protection  against  the  buccaneers.  A  small  garrison  is  kept 
there,  and  a  slight  show  of  the  "  pride,  pomp  and  circumstance 
of  glorious  war"  is  still  kept  up,  but  it  is  simply  ludicrous,  and 
reminds  one  of  the  old  soldier  in  Goldsmith's  "  Deserted  Vil- 
lage," who  "  shouldered  his  crutch  and  showed  how  fields  were 
won." 

On  an  eminence  to  the  left  is  another  fort,  a  relic  of  the 
past,  and  still  further  up  the  mountain-side  there  is  yet  another 
really  picturesque  ruin  of  an  old  fort,  which  dates  back  to  the 
sixteenth  century.  I  am  glad  to  say,  however,  that  Guzman 
Blanco,  the  President  of  Venezuela,  is  taking  care  of  these  old 
forts,  protecting  them  from  further  decay,  and  repairing  some 
of  the  ravages  that  time  has  made.  Whether  he  does  this  in  a 
utilitarian  sense,  or  merely  to  preserve  the  antique  beauty  of 
their  architecture,  and  as  memorials  of  those  early  days  of 
Venezuelan  history,  I  do  not  know.  To  the  traveler  whose 
mind  dwells  more  on  the  "  strange  and  eventful  history"  of 
these  Spanish-speaking  countries  than  on  the  present  state  of 
their  affairs,  the  old  Spanish  fortresses,  with  their  queer  little 
Moorish  watch-towers,  have  a  fascination  and  attraction 
decidedly  greater  than  any  of  their  more  recent  structures. 

But  to  return  to  the  so-called  harbor  of  La  Guayra — thougii 
all  vessels  have  to  be  loaded  and  unloaded  by  lighters,  there  is 
more  business  done   here  than  at  all    the  other   sea-ports  of 


THIRTY    DAYS    OX    THE    CARIBBEAN. 


95 


Venezuela  combined.  These  lighters  are  built  like  whale- 
boats,  only  much  heavier  and  larger.  They  are  made  of 
lignum-vit^e  and  iron-wood,  and  cost  twelve  hundred  dollars 
each.  They  are  handled  very  skillfully  by  natives,  and  carry 
great  loads  back  and  forth  from  the  vessels  with  perfect  safety, 
landing  them  through  the  surf  without  wetting  any  of  the 
goods.  A  smaller  size  of  boats  convey  passengers  to  and  from 
the  shore.  Sometimes  the  passengers  have  to  be  carried  from 
the  boats  (after  touching  the  beach),  through  the  foam  of  the 
surf  to  the  dry  land,  on  the  backs  of  the  boatmen.  But  this 
was  not  the  case  while  we  were  there,  as  the  sea  was  compara- 
tively smooth. 

The  morning  we  reached  La  Guayra  there  were  anchored 
there  two  Venezuelan  gun-boats,  two  English  war  steamers, 
and  two  English  gun-boats,  three  barks,  one  full-rigged  ship, 
three  large  schooners,  and  fourteen  small  coasting  vessels  from 
ten  to  seventy-five  tons  each.  Before  going  to  Caracas  a 
Spanish  war-steamer,  an  English  mail-steamer,  a  Dutch  mail- 
steamer  and  three  large  sailing  vessels  came  to  anchor  near  our 
steamer. 

The  City  of  Caracas  is  but  seven  miles  from  La  Guayra, 
"  as  the  crow  flies,"  but  the  nearest  wagon-road  to  it  is  over 
twenty-four  miles  long.  There  is  another  route  more  nearly 
direct  over  the  mountain,  which,  however,  can  only  be  traveled 
by  mules  and  donkeys,  and  it  was  by  this  path  in  the  old 
times  that  communication  was  had  between  the  two  cities. 
The  wagon-road  is  of  a  much  later  date,  having  been  con- 
structed when  the  growing  importance  and  wealth  of  Caracas 
rendered  it  necessary  for  the  easier  transportation  of  heavy 
and   bulky  freights. 

But  now  the  locomotive  creeps  up  and  around  these  solemn 
mountain's,  and  darts  across  the  yawning  chasms  in  a  sinuous 
trail,  wakin"'  the  echoes  with  its  shrill  scream,  and  disturbinsf 


g6  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  slumbers  or  pleasures  of  the  lions,  and  tigers,  and  boa- 
constrictors,  of  which  these  mountains  are  full.  The  Caracas 
and  La  Guayra  Railroad  is  twenty-four  miles  long,  and  has 
fourteen  bridges,  eight  tunnels  and  a  fabulous  number  of 
curves.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  engineers  who 
surveyed  the  line  died  of  grief,  because  he  could  not  put  in 
one  more  curve.  The  road  is  narrow  gauge  and  was  built 
and  is  owned  by  an  English  company.  The  fare  either  way 
■(first  class),  is  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents!  The  freight  rate  on 
a  bag  of  coffee  (130  lbs.),  from  Caracas  to  La  Guayra,  is  one 
•dollar !  What  is  the  Standard  Oil  Company  or  any  other 
Yankee  monopoly  in  comparison  to  that  ?  But  the  English- 
men don't  get  it  all  by  an)-  manner  of  means.  The  "  con- 
cession "  which  has  to  be  obtained  from  the  government 
before  a  railroad  or  similar  work  can  be  commenced,  always 
■costs  a  very  pretty  penny  in  the  first  place,  and  a  continual 
"  divy  "  of  profits  forever  afterwards.  And  this  leads  me  to 
say  that  whatever  of  indolence  may  be  charged  to  the  Spanish 
character  in  these  tropical  countries,  it  draws  the  line  at  the 
•collection  of  customs  and  taxes.  In  those  departments  of 
'labor,  nothing  can  exceed  the  industry  of  the  government 
officials,  except  it  may  be  the  ingenuity  which  those  individuals 
-display  in  getting  a  share  of  it  into  their  own  pockets.  Though 
no  passports  are  required,  yet  you  have  to  pay  a  custom-house 
fee  when  you  enter  and  when  you  depart  from  the  country. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  at  La  Guayra,  Mr.  Winfield 
-S.  Bird,  the  American  consul  at  that  port.  Mr.  Bird  has 
resided  here  for  several  years,  is  a  fluent  speaker  of  the 
Spanish  tongue,  and  lias  become  very  familiar  with  all  the 
-characteristics  of  the  natives  of  this  interesting  portion  of 
America,  as  also  with  the  resources  of  Venezuela  and  her 
adjoining  republics.  My  acc^uaintance  with  him  was  of  but 
•two  or  three   davs'  duration,  during  which  time,  however,  he 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  97 

showed  me  every  attention  and  contributed  much  to  the 
pleasure  of  my  sta}'  there.  At  parting  he  handed  me  a 
document  which  he  had  written  for  me,  which  upon  opening, 
I  found  to  be  two  poems  upon  La  Gua)'ra.  "  No.  i  was 
written,"  he  said,  "  for  this  latitude,  and  as  he  was  partial  to 
La  Guayra,  it  expressed  his  sentiments,  while  No.  2  indi- 
cates pretty  clearly  the  impressions  and  feelings  of  transient 
Americans  who  stay  here  only  long  enough  to  see  the  dark 
side  of  the  picture."  Only  those  that  have  visited  these  old 
Spanish  cities  can  fully  appreciate  the  humor  of  No.  2,  and 
I  did  not  stay  at  La  Guayra  long  enough  to  become  very 
much  saturated  with  the  enthusiasm  which  permeates  No.  i. 

I.     La  Guavra. 

(Jh,   tranquil  paraiso,   nestled  near  the  placid  sea, 
La  Guayra,   mi  qtterida,    I   must  bid  adieu  to  thee  ! 
My  boat  is  tossing  in  the  surf,  the  twilight  settles  down, 
A  si  pui's,   mi  dcspedida — adios,   my  dear  old  town. 

t)h,   gorgeous,   cloud-kissed  mountains,   that  majestically  rise 
Ear  up  into  the  azure  of  the  lovely  tropic   skies, 
Frown  never,   but  forever  with  the  smile  of  pity  greet 
The  home  of  mis  7-ectierdos  sweetly  sleeping  at  your  feet. 

Thou  restless  and  resistless  olas  that,   with  ceaseless  roar 
And  sheets  of  white  espiima,  dash  upon  the  rocky  shore, 
Beat   lightly  and  break  brightly,   with   thy  changeless  melody,. 
On  the  beautiful  orillas  of   this  haven  by  the  sea. 

And  thou,   too,   gentle  mother  earth,  in  moments  of  unrest. 
Trembling  with  hollow  thunders  that  re-echo  in  thy  breast, 
In  pity  spare  La  Guayra  a  recurrence  of  her  woes — 
The  death  and  desolation  of  the  (erre?nota  throes. 

With  fondest  recollections  and  with  heart  sincere  and   true, 

Gnaiivnos  queridisimos,  receive  my  last  adieu  ! 

May  God,  con  mono  iiiua,  ever  graciously  extend 

To  you  the   favor  you  have  shown  to  your  departing  friend. 

7 


gS  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

II.     La  Guayra. 

Adios  to  thee,   La  Guayra  !  city  of  the  dark-eyed  gcntc, 
Land  of  viucho  calor  and  of  do/cc  far  nicntc, 
Home  of    the  wailing  donkey  and  the  all-abounding  flea, 
Mariana,  gracios  d  Dios  !     I   bid  adieu   to  thee. 

Farewell,  ye  gloomy  casas,   iiicjor  diidio  prison  cells, 
Ye  narrow,   crooked  callcs,  reeking  with  assorted  smells, 
Ye  dirty  little  coffee  shops  and  filthy  piilperias, 
Stinking  stables,   dingy  patios  and  fetid  cafici-ias. 

Where  beggars  ride  on  horseback  like  Spanish  cavaliers. 
And  vagabonds  perambulate  like   jolly  gamboliers, 
Where  the  lavandcras  wash  your  jvpa  when  they  feel  inclined. 
And  hotel  waiters  strut  around  with  shirt-tails  out  behind. 

Good-by,  ye  Latin  greasers  !    sti  a  ten  to  senndor, 
Que  vaya  bien,  pues  adios  !   my  boat  is  on  the  shore  ; 
Oh,  dirty  people,  dirty  houses,  despicable  spot. 
Departing,   I  salute  you  in  your  dirtiness  and  rot. 

Steaming  and  streaming  with  boiling  perspiration. 
Seething  and  breathing  with  hurried   respiration, 
La  Guayra,   adios  siemprc,   tierra  fan  calicntc. 
Infernal  clime  of  vicious  rum  and  vilest  agitarticntc. 

Notwithstanding  the  heat,  the  want  of  cleanliness,  the  lack 
of  proper  sewerage,  and  the  degrading  habits  of  a  large 
proportion  of  its  population,  La  Guayra  is  said  to  be  a  healthy 
city.  It  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  history  of  the 
Spanish  Main  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 
having  been  more  than  once  sacked  b}'  the  pirates  and  buc- 
caneers. In  1 8 12  an  earthquake  reduced  it  to  ruins,  with  the 
exception  of  its  large  and  very  substantial  custom-house, 
which  remained  uninjured,  except  a  huge  crack  across  its 
massive  door-sill,  which  souvenir  of  the  dreadful  visitor  I 
viewed  with  interest. 

All  kinds  of  tropical  fruits  are  very  abundant  here  and  are 
perpetually  growing  and  ripening,  so  that  "  fruit  in  season," 
would  be  an  unnecessary  item  to  enumerate  on  a  hotel  or 
restaurant  bill  of  fare  at  La  Guayra. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  99 

The  railway,  as  I  said,  is  twenty-four  miles  long,  and  this  to 
reach  a  place  just  seven  miles  distant.  In  eighteen  miles  it 
reaches  an  altitude  of  a  little  over  three  thousand  feet.  At 
times  we  had  magnificent  views  of  the  sea  and  of  La  Guayra 
at  our  very  feet,  but  so  far  off  that  the  great  ships  at  anchor 
looked  like  little  toy  boats,  and  the  hundreds  of  lighters  could 
hardl}'  be  seen  at  all.  Sometimes  we  went  rushing  along  the 
edge  of  a  gorge  that  made  me  feel  qualmish  to  look  down 
into,  and  although  it  took  two  hours  to  run  that  twenty-four 
miles,  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  went  at  a  devil-ma)--care  rate, 
and  I  breathed  much  easier  when  we  reached  the  lovely 
valle}'  of  Caracas,  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  had  a  view  of  the  old  Spanish  city  in 
the  distance. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  lOI 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Caracas. 

AT  the  railway  station  at  Caracas  there  were  to  be  seen 
the  usual  crowd  of  hack-drivers  and  porters  soliciting 
(in  vorciferous  Spanish)  the  pleasure  of  transporting  passengers 
and  their  baggage  to  the  hotels.  Ignoring  these  and  following 
the  lead  of  Signor  Rudloff,  I  walked  a  few  steps  and  took  a 
queer  little  street  car  which  soon  conveyed  us  through  narrow 
streets,  a  mile  or  more,  to  the  Hotel  Saint  Amand,  which  is 
pleasantly  located  on  quite  a  wide  street  fronting  the  capitol 
and  its  handsome  grounds.  As  my  friend  turned  into  a 
gloomy  hallway  and  commenced  to  climb  some  dirty  stairs, 
I  supposed  that  he  was  merely  calling  at  some  business  office 
before  going  to  the  hotel.  But  following  on,  "to  take  it  all  in," 
I  was  surprised  to  find  that  this  gloomy  old  barracks  was  the 
"  Hotel  Saint  Amand,"  the  best  hotel  in  the  City  of  Caracas. 
To  give  a  pen  picture  of  the  primitive  customs  that  prevail 
in  this  old  caravansary  would  tax  my  descriptive  powers 
beyond  their  limits.  The  building  was  evidently  originally 
erected  for  a  dwelling,  and  its  large  apartments  have  been 
partitioned  off  into  smaller  ones,  and  the  walls  of  separation 
are  made  of  merely  half-inch  boards  and  papered !  The  court- 
yard or  patio,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  all  dwellings  in 
Spanish  countries,  is  there  ;  but  instead  of  being  "  a  thing  of 
beauty  and  a  joy  forever,"  is  but  a  receptacle  for  all  sorts  of 
rubbish.  The  bed-rooms  being  all  on  the  second  floor  and 
arranged    around    this    open   court,  their    unhappy   occupants 

tJNlVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA' 
SANTA  BARBARA 


I02  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

have  the  full  benefit  of  a  variety  of  odors  which  are  anything 
but  agreeable  to  sensitive  nostrils.  My  German  friend  soon 
had  apartments  assigned  to  us  by  the  somewhat  ancient 
senorita  who  presided  as  clerk  over  this  delectable  retreat. 
After  making  our  toilets,  we  were  piloted  to  another  house, 
through  the  grounds  of  the  capitol,  where  we  took  our  meals. 
This  was  the  portion  of  the  Saint  Amand,  with  a  few  similar 
rooms,  where  the  guests  are  fed,  and  in  truth  I  must  say  that 
the  food  was  good,  well  cooked,  well  served  and  in  ample 
variety.  •  In  the  morning,  coffee  or  chocolate  is  served  in  your 
sleeping-room,  or  on  the  balcony  overlooking  the  court-yard 
aforesaid,  and  breakfast  cannot  be  had  before  eleven  o'clock. 
The  interval  between  early  morning  coffee  and  breakfast  is 
the  pleasantest  part  of  the  day  to  walk  or  ride  about  the  city, 
except,  perhaps,  an  hour  or  two  late  in  the  afternoon  when 
the  heat  of  the  middle  of   the  day  has  somewhat   subsided. 

The  foulness  of  the  court-yard  and  back-yards,  the  utter 
lack  of  sanitary  measures  in  all  the  necessary  appurtenances 
of  a  hotel,  and  the  abundant  evidence  of  ignorance  of  all  that 
pertains  to  cleanliness  and  health,  led  me  to  expect  a  nightly 
seance  with  bed-bugs,  but  in  this  I  was  agreeably  disappointed. 
Nothing  but  the  wicked  and  subtle  flea  disputed  my  claim 
to  balmy  sleep,  tired  nature's  sweet  restorer.  But  with  a  calm 
and  serene  spirit  I  successfully  overcame  his  intrusive  atten- 
tions sufficiently  to  obtain  the  necessary  amount  of  sleep  to 
knit  up  the  ravelled  sleeve  of  care,  and  emerge  from  my 
boudoir  with  a  smiling  face  and  refreshed  body  every  morning. 

On  the  train  from  La  Guayra  I  was  introduced  to  the 
resident  British  minister  at  Caracas,  Mr.  St.  John,  pronounced, 
however,  Stn  John  ("  English,  you  know  "),  who  was  a  fine- 
looking  and  very  courteous  gentleman. 

The  Republic  of  Venezuela  has  lately  had  a  serious  mis- 
understandincr  with    England   reeardinir  some  boundarv  lines 


104  '^^^    SPANISH    MAIN. 

near  English  Guiana,  the  tract  of  territory  in  dispute  assuming 
recently  great  importance  by  the  discovery  of  very  rich  gold 
mines  upon  it.  England,  as  is  averred,  assumes  to  own  it, 
occupies  it,  and,  anchoring  her  armored  ships  of  war  in  several 
of  the  Venezuelan  ports,  very  coolly  says  to  the  little  republic, 
"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?"  Under  these  circum- 
stances. President  Guzman  Blanco  has  given  the  British 
minister  his  papers,  and  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two 
countries  have  been  severed.  Mr.  St.  John  has  taken  up  his 
quarters  on  one  of  Her  Majesty's  war  ships  at  La  Guayra 
awaiting  orders  from  his  government,  and  his  trip  to  Caracas 
was  but  to  attend  to  some  personal  affairs.  What  the  out- 
come will  be,  it  is  difficult  to  premfse.  President  Blanco  has 
offered  to  have*  the  dispute  arbitrated  by  the  United  States 
Government,  which  proposition  was  declined  by  England. 

Almost  immediately  upon  our  arrival  at  Caracas  we  en- 
countered a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  H.  R.  Hamilton,  whose 
brogue  determined  his  nationality,  although  an  American  b}' 
adoption,  and  whose  pressing  invitation  to  "  go  and  have 
something,"  was  proof  that  his  residence  of  a  few  years  in 
Caracas  had  not  made  him  forget  the  custom  that  so  unhappih' 
prevails  among  so  many  of  our  countrymen.  A  drug  store 
seemed  the  fashionable  place  for  high-toned  drinking  in 
Caracas  (as  it  often  is  here  in  the  United  States),  and  thither 
we  proceeded.  On  our  way  we  met  Major  Charles  L.  Scott, 
U.  S.  A.,  minister  to  Venezuela,  residing  at  Caracas. 

Mr.  Hamilton,  who  is  a  prominent  man  in  Caracas,  and 
evidently  occupies  some  confidential  position  "  near  the 
throne,"  immediately  introduced  us  to  our  fellow-countryman. 
An  introduction  in  every-day  life  at  home  is  a  very  common 
'and  unimportant  matter,  and  in  many  instances  is  a  custom 
"more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance,"  but  in 
a  foreign  land,  among  strangers  whose  language  is  not  under- 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  105 

stood,  an  influential  introduction  to  a  fellow-countryman  is  a 
very  different  affair,  and  assumes  at  once  the  complexion  of  a 
boon — a  blessing — a  pleasure  that  can  only  be  appreciated  by 
a  traveler  in  such  circumstances.  Mr.  Hamilton's  thoughtful 
and  courteous  introduction  to  Major  Scott  produced  a  result, 
during  our  few  days  stay  in  the  City  of  Caracas,  which  was  all 
that  a  tourist's  heart  could  wish,  and  will  ever  be  remembered 
by  me  with  feelings  of  the  liveliest  gratitude. 

Major  Charles  L.  Scott  is  a  Virginian  by  birth.  He  went 
to  California  in  1849,  ^'""^  afterwards  represented  that  state 
in  Congress  during  the  thirty-fifth  and  thirty-sixth  sessions. 
When  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out  he  "  wore  the  grey," 
and  was  one  of  the  fighting  Southerners  and  not  simply  a 
politician.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  resided  in  Alabama, 
and  was  appointed  in  1885  by  President  Cleveland  as  United 
States  Minister  to  Venezuela.  He  is  a  most  affable  and 
courteous  gentleman,  of  fine  appearance,  and  about  fifty-eight 
years  of  age.  His  kind  attentions  to  American  visitors  to 
Caracas  are  acknowledged  most  heartily  by  all,  and  are  referred 
to  with  enthusiasm  b)^  those  who  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
accepting  the  hospitality  of  his  house. 

We  were  glad  to  learn  that  he  is  very  popular  here  in 
Caracas,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  President  Guzman 
Blanco  and  his  ca'oinet.  Our  land  loses  none  of  its  brilliancy 
in  the  galaxy  of  nations  when  represented  by  such  men  as 
Major  Scott,  who,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  one  of  the 
fighting  and  not  intriguing  rebels,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to 
accept  the  situation  manfully  when  defeat  came,  and  now 
refers  to  it  as  "  a  blessing  in  disguise  "  to  our  great  nation, 
binding  all  sections  together  more  strongly  than  could  have 
been  possible  before  the  black  wall  of  slavery  was  broken 
down,  and  opening  up  vistas  of  material  prosperity  to  the 
South  that  under  the  old  regime  could  never  have  been 
dreamed  of. 


1  o6  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

"Sweet  are  the  uses  of   adversity, 
Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head." 

Under  the  guidance  of  Major  Scott  we  visited  all  the  points 
of  interest  in  this  truly  beautiful  city  in  the  mountains  of 
Venezuela.  The  numerous  plazas,  or  parks,  are  well  shaded 
with  a  variety  of  tropical  trees  (none  so  beautiful,  however,  as 
our  own  lovely  maples)  and  ornamented  with  fine  statuary. 
In  one  of  the  parks  is  a  superb  bronze  statue  of  Guzman 
Blanco,  with  an  inscription  which  I  copied  and  which  reads 
as  follows : 

La  Paz  i  la  libertad  el  order  Administrativo  i  el  Progresso 

Intellectual  i  material,  Debidos, 

Al    General    Guzman    B  l  a  n  c  o. 

Tanto    Como    La    Dignidad  de  la    Patria  ante  el   Estranjero 

que  el  ha  revivindicado  son  el  Verridadero 

Pedestal  De  esta  Estatua. 

In  another  park  called  the  Plaza  of  Santa  Teresa,  is  a. 
bronze  statue  of  our  Washington,  erected  in  the  centennial 
year  of  Bolivar  in    1883.     The  inscription  on  it  says: 

G  U  Z  M  A  N       B  L  A  N  C  O  , 

lUustrioHs    A  nicrican, 

$ 

President  United  States  of  \'enezuela, 
Erected    this    Statue. 

Another  very  fine  statue  is  an  equestrian  one  in  bronze  of 
General  Simon  Bolivar,  the  great  "Liberator"  of  these  South 
American  States.  The  Venezuelans  celebrate  the  anniversary 
of  his  birth,  the  same  as  we  do  the  twenty-second  day  of 
February,  the  birthday  of  our  own  Washington. 

A  public  garden  called  Calvario  is  on  a  hill  a  half  mile  or 
so  from  the  city.  It  is  the  gift  of  President  Guzman  Blanco 
to  the  City  of  Caracas,  and  a  place  of  wonderful  beauty. 


BRONZE    STATUE    OF    GENERAL    BOLIVAR. 


108  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

Caracas,  though  up  in  the  mountains  three  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  is  yet  in 
a  lovely  valley  nine  miles  long  by  two  miles  wide,  while 
towering  above  it  on  every  side  are  the  majestic  mountains 
sending  down  their  cool  streams  of  water  for  the  uses  of  the 
city.  From  this  garden  of  Calvario  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
city,  the  valley,  and  the  panorama  of  mountains  is  obtained. 
Major  Scott  took  us  also  through  all  the  cathedrals,  the  public 
buildings,  the  gallery  of  paintings,  and  also  to  the  Pantheon 
where  are  buried  all  the  dead  heroes  of  Venezuelan  history. 

Mentioning  to  the  president  our  presence  in  the  city, 
General  Guzman  Blanco  at  once  signified  to  Major  Scott  his 
desire  to  meet  us,  and  appointed  an  hour  for  us  to  visit  him 
at  his  palace.  Presenting  ourselves  at  the  proper  time,  we 
were  escorted  through  a  line  of  colored  soldiers  on  guard  to 
a  magnificent  apartment  in  the  palace.  While  waiting  for  the 
president  to  come  in,  I  was  informed  by  Major  Scott  that  I 
had  been  selected  by  the  party  (four  other  Americans)  to  be 
the  spokesman  to  address  the  illustrious  president.  I  pro- 
tested, and  pleaded  my  ignorance  of  any  language  but  English 
(and  but  a  meagre  knowledge  of  that),  but  the  president's 
secretary  assured  me,  in  well-expressed  English,  that  he  would 
interpret  faithfully  to  General  Blanco  any  remarks  that  I 
would  be  pleased  to  make. 

Forsaken  by  my  friends,  who  showed  no  signs  of  relenting 
from  their  cruel  sentence,  and  fearing  that  I  would  be  shot  by 
the  guards  if  I  attempted  to  run  away,  I  submitted  to  my  fate. 
Just  as  I  had  braced  up  a  little  and  had  framed  a  few  well- 
rounded  sentences  to  throw  at  the  president,  I  caught  sight  of 
myself  in  one  of  the  long  mirrors  which  adorned  the  room. 
A  tropical  sun  on  board  ship  had  played  the  deuce  with  my 
face,  and  Bardolph's  nose,  at  the  Boar's  Head  Tavern,  when 
Falstaff  called   him    the   "  knight  of  the  burning  lamp,"  was 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  1 09 

not  more  fiery  red  than  my  whole  countenance.  I  wa.s  about 
to  make  another  masterly  attempt  at  retreat,  when  the  presi- 
dent was  announced,  and  we  were  introduced  individually 
by  Major  Scott. 

Guzman  Blanco  is  sixty  years  of  age,  is  about  six  feet  and 
two  inches  tall,  has  been  a  very  handsome  man  and  still 
retains  much  of  his  good  looks,  although  his  hair  and  mous- 
tache are  gray  and  lines  of  either  age  or  anxiety  are  on  his 
face  and  brow.  Shaking  our  hands  cordially  he  expressed  his 
pleasure  at  meeting  citizens  of  that  country  that  he  so  greatly 
admired  and  whose  beneficent  forms  of  government  he  had 
tried  to  emulate.  His  knowledge  of  English  is  so  slight  that 
after  a  few  words  he  relapsed  into  Spanish,  which  his  secretary 
interpreted  very  gracefully  to  us. 

I  then  swallowed  a  huge  lump  that  had  grow'n  and  glued 
itself  to  my  throat,  and  asked  the  secretary  to  please  say  to 
General  Blanco  that  through  the  kind  offices  of  Major  Scott, 
we  had  been  shown  the  many  public  improvements  in  the 
City  of  Caracas,  which  had  been  made  during  the  years  that 
he  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  government ;  that  while  all 
these  had  impressed  us  with  the  prosperity  of  his  adminis- 
tration, we  had  been  more  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
statements  made  to  us  by  Major  Scott  and  others,  of  the 
deep  interest  that  the  president  had  taken  in  the  intellectual 
advancement  of  his  people — that  through  his  exertions  over 
fifteen  hundred  free  schools  had  been  established  in  Venezuela 
where  none  had  before  existed — that  monasteries  and  convents 
were  turned  into  colleges,  and  an  era  of  education  for  the 
masses  had  been  successfully  inaugurated,  through  which 
future  generations  would  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed.  I  was 
going  on  to  say  some  more  of  the  same  sort,  when  a  thought 
of  my  red  nose  and  parboiled  cheeks  checked  further  utterance 
in  that   line  of  thought,  and  I   concluded   my  remarks  with  an 


I  lO  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

expression  of  the  pleasure  we  experienced  in  being  honored 
by  this  reception.  I  thought  the  secretary  elaborated  my 
remarks  somewhat  in  his  interpretation  to  the  president,  for 
the  illustrious  American  advanced  and  pressed  my  hand  as  he 
thanked  me  for  my  "  kind  words."  At  this  juncture  some 
light  refreshments  and  wine  and  cigars  were  served,  after 
which  we  took  our  leave  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela. 

That  Guzman  Blanco  is  a  remarkable  man  goes  without 
saying,  but  he  has  exhibited  a  combination  of  qualities  rarely 
found  in  public  men.  He  is  not  only  a  soldier,  and  a  wonder- 
fully good  one,  but  he  is  also  a  statesman,  and  a  remarkably 
able  one.  Added  to  these,  he  has  been  a  shrewd  business 
man  and  by  "  thrift  "  has  accumulated  a  princely  fortune  of 
fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  His  friends  say  that  he  is  honest, 
wise,  and  a  benefactor  of  his  race.  His  enemies  say  otherwise, 
but  the  p?'h>'ia  /ac'ic  evidence  is,  that  his  several  administrations 
have  been  characterized  by  great  material  improvements  and 
intellectual  advancement  to  his  country  and  to  his  people. 
I  prefer  to  accept  this  view  of  his  character,  as  our  friend 
Hamlet  remarks,  "  Be  thou  as  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  as  snow, 
thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny." 


I  I  2  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

M  A  N  A  N  A. 

To-morrow,   and  to-morrow,   and  to-morrow, 
Creeps  in  this  petty  pace  from  day  to  day 
To  the  last  syllable  of   recorded  time. 
And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools 
The  way  to  dusty  death. — Macbeth. 

ONE  of  the  words  most  in  use  in  Venezuela,  and  indeed 
among  all  the  Spanish -speaking  people  of  tropical 
countries,  is  ^^  Mariana''' — pronounced  in  their  smooth  and 
musical  language,  MaJi-nyah-nah.  It  means  "  to-morrow,"  and 
as  their  habit  of  life  is  one  of  indolence,  diametrically  the 
opposite  of  that  of  our  Northern  people — which  is  one  of 
thrift  and  industry — so  their  proverb  is  practically  the  reverse 
of  ours,  and  instead  of  being  "  never  put  off  till  to-morrow 
what  can  be  done  to-day,"  is  to  the  effect,  "  never  do  to-day 
what  can  be  done  to-morrow."  The  enervating  climate  is 
probably  the  first  cause  of  this,  and  successive  generations  go 
on  through  life  as  their  ancestors  have  before  them.  When 
asked  to  do  anything  that  involves  physical  exertion,  they 
ejaculate  "  Manana,"  and  sit  still  ! 

"  To-morrow  "  is  their  accepted  time  and  the  day  of  their 
salvation  from  the  ills  of  poverty ;  but  that  "to-morrow"  never 
comes,  so  they  remain  poor  and  wretched,  hugging  to  their 
bosoms  that  delusive  "  to-morrow "  and  wasting  away  the 
"to-day"  which  is  the  only  time  that  mortal  man  can  call  his 
own.  They  can  thus  be  truthfully  called  "  the  people  of 
to-morrow,"  for  this  characteristic  is  observable  in  all  classes 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  II3 

of  society,  though  doubtless  it  is  more  pronounced  among  the 
poor  and  ignorant.  When  the  masses  have  become  more 
intelligent,  as  the  free  schools  begin  to  disperse  the  dense 
clouds  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  Industry  will  be  more 
honored  and  courted,  while  Indolence  will  droop  her  head 
in  shame,  and  then  will  the  "  Manana  "  be  no  longer  the 
fatal  rock  on  which  their  lives  are  wrecked. 

And  so  I  say  again,  all  honor  to  the  man  who,  though 
"  native  here  and  to  the  manner  born,"  has  risen  superior  to 
the  bias  of  climate  and  national  character,  and  founded 
hundreds  of  free  schools  and  scores  of  universities  and  colleges 
for  the  education  of  his  people.  The  name  of  Guzman  Blanco 
will  always  hold  a  prominent  place  in  South  American  history 
as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman,  but  it  will  shine  the  brightest  as 
he  is  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  educator  and  consequently  the 
greatest  benefactor  of  his  people. 

Gloomy  looking  as  prison  walls  are  the  exteriors  of  all  the 
dwellings  of  Caracas,  but  after  passing  through  the  dismal 
portals,  a  few  steps  usher  you  into  a  delightful  patio  or  court- 
yard, in  which  are  growing  in  tropical  luxuriance,  trees  and 
flowers,  fruits  and  ferns,  and  in  many  instances  a  fountain  of 
pure  water  mingles  its  soft  murmurs  with  the  songs  of  birds — 
making  a  miniature  garden  of  Eden.  Around  this  charming 
bower  are  the  spacious  apartments  with  their  high  ceilings, 
large  windows,  innocent  of  glass,  but  with  heavy  inside  shuttefs 
to  keep  out  the  strong  light  and  heat  of  mid-day.  The  chairs 
and  lounges  are  of  cane  and  the  floors  are  usually  bare  or 
covered  with  matting.  Upholstered  furniture  and  carpets  are 
but  little  used  in  Venezuela,  though  we  found  both,  and  of 
the  richest  description,  in  the  palace  of  the  president. 

A  ride  one  Sunday  afternoon,  toward  evening,  discovered  to 
us  many  very  pretty  female  faces  at  the  windows.  Some  of 
my  more  giddy  companions  were  inclined  to  flirt  with  the  fair 


114  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

and  jewelled  senoritas,  who  seemed  not  averse  to  exchanging 
smiles  with  the  foreigners,  which  filled  the  young  New  Yorkers 
full  of  conceit.  But  I,  remembering  my  Bardolph  complexion, 
could  not  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  my  soul,  and  cynically 
reflecting  that  "  beauty  is  purchased  by  the  weight,"  and  that 
"ornament  is  but  the  guiled  shore  to  a  most  dangerous  sea," 
with  eyes  severe  I  kept  my  heart  in  my  pocket,  and  returned 
to  my  hotel  unharmed  by  Cupid's  darts. 

A  letter  of   introduction   to   the   firm   of  Boulton  &  Co.,  in 

Caracas,  procured  for  me  many  polite  attentions.     In  company 

with  young  Mr.  Boulton  of  New  York,  who  had  been  spending 

several  months  in  Venezuela,  I  visited  the  coffee  plantation  of 

his  uncle  a  few  miles  out  of  the  city.     The  modus  operandi  of 

preparing  the  coffee  for  shipment  was  carefully  explained  to  me. 

In  brief  it  is  about  as  follows:     The  coffee,  when   first  picked 

in   the   pod,  is   put   into   a   large   stone  vat   to  clean  it ;   then 

thrown  into  the  hopper  of  the  hulling  machine  ;  the  hulls  drop 

in  one  place  and   the  berry  in  another,  which  is  a  vat  full  of 

running  water;  here  it  is  washed  by  stirring  by  the  negroes  to 

rid   it   of   the    glutinous    matter   attached    to   it.      It    is    then 

shoveled  out   on  the  broad  patio  or  yard,  with  floor  of  brick, 

to  dry.      Then   it   is   shoveled    into    the   "  trillo "    or  "  rollo," 

where  the  little  skin  or  parchment  which  still  adheres  to  it  is 

taken  off  by  a  great  wheel.     Now  it  still  has  a  certain  amount 

of   dust    and    skin  clinging    to    it,   so  it   must   be   put    into    a' 

*'  blower,"  which  not  only  thoroughly  cleanses  but  also  assorts 

it   as   to   size.      Then    there   is   another    machine  —  a   Yankee 

invention — which  takes  the  berries  from  the  blower  and  sorts 

out  t\\Q  flat  beans  from  the  round  ones.     The  round  beans  are 

really   no   better   than    the    flat   ones,  but  command   a   higher 

price,  which  seemed  to  me  a  "  little  trick  of  the  trade."     After 

all  this  the  coffee  is  picked  over  by  hand,  by  women,  to  take 

out  every  defective  bean.     There  were  twenty  or  thirty  negro 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  II 5 

women  engaged  in  this  occupation,  and  some  of  them  looked 
as  if  they  had  been  at  it  ever  since  Columbus  discovered  the 
country. 

On  our  return  from  San  Bernardino,  the  name  of  Mr.  Boul- 
ton's  estate,  we  drove  along  the  banks  of  a  mountain  stream 
in  which  were  scores  of  women  washing  clothes.  They  beat 
them  on  the  stones,  in  a  manner  that  must  be  highly  destruc- 
tive to  buttons,  if  not  to  the  texture  of  the  garments.  With 
their  skirts  tucked  up  in  a  most  thorough  and  extensive 
manner,  these  stalwart  washerwomen,  as  they  bent  down  to 
their  labor,  looked  like  a  corps  de  ballet  hors  de  combat. 
Such  a  display  of  female  limbs  would  doubtless  have  shocked 
many  people  who  witness  the  gyrations  of  a  ballet  troupe 
with  perfect  equanimity,  and  without  a  thought  of  anything 
immodest  or  improper  in  the  performance.  "  Art "  is  one 
thing,  "  nature  "  is  another  ! 

In  the  Casa  Municipal,  or  City  Hall,  is  a  painting,  the 
subject  of  which  is  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, fifth  Julio,  1811.  Its  size  is  twenty-two  feet  by 
twenty  feet,  and  it  is  said  to  be  a  finer  work  of  art  than  the 
one  having  a  similar  subject,  so  familiar  to  Americans,  in  the 
rotunda  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  It  was  painted  by  a 
French  artist,  M.  Tovar  y  Tovar,  at  Paris  in  1883. 

There  are  four  daily  papers  published  at  Caracas.  Being 
all  printed  in  Spanish  I  derived  but  little  comfort  from  them. 
I  did,  however,  glean  from  one  of  them  the  sad  news  of  the 
death  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  which  reached  Caracas  by  the 
way  of  England  and  the  Island  of  Trinidad  !  It  was  read  by 
me  about  two  weeks  after  the  death  occurred. 

There  are  two  clubs  in  Caracas,  one  of  which,  "Club  Union," 
I  visited  and  spent  an  enjoyable  evening.  I  was  introduced 
to  a  number  of  gentlemen  there  who,  though  native  Vene- 
zuelans, addressed  me  in  good   English.     I  also  met  while  in 


Il6  THE    SrANISH    MAIN. 

Caracas,  Senor  Olavarria,  a  distinguished  citizen  greatly 
respected  by  all,  and  who  has  recently  been  appointed  by 
General  Blanco  as  Minister  to  the  United  States.  He 
impressed  me  as  being  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  as  his 
particular  mission  to  this  country  is  to  enlist  the  United  States 
in  a  friendly  effort  to  settle  the  serious  disputes  between 
Venezuela  and  England,  I  believe  that  he  will  present  the 
subject  to  our  government  in  a  way  that  will  lead  it  to  take 
some  action  in  the  premises. 

There  are  but  one  hundred  and  fourteen  miles  of  finished 
railways  in  all  Venezuela,  though  there  are  in  process  of 
building  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  more.  It  is  a 
most  interesting  country  to  visit,  and  not  a  bad  country  to 
live  in.  Its  known,  but  as  yet  undeveloped,  resources  are 
apparently  boundless.  There  are  no  richer  mines  on  the 
globe  than  in  Venezuela.  Its  agricultural  and  other  products 
give  freights  to  many  great  ships,  but  few  of  which,  alas, 
fly  the  American  flag. 

The  Messrs.  Boulton  with  their  fine  steamers,  the  "  Phila- 
delphia," the  "Valencia"  and  the  "  Caracas,"  comprising  the 
Red  D  Line,  are  doing  a  large  business  with  this  wonderfully 
productive  country  ;  but  aside  from  these,  I  did  not  see  or  hear 
of  another  American  vessel  doing  business  at  any  of  the  ports 
of  Venezuela.  On  the  other  hand,  English,  French  and 
Spanish  steamers  and  ships,  are  to  be  found  in  every  port 
on  the  coast. 


DEGENERATE    REMAINS    OF    THE    ONCE    POWERFUL    TRIBE 
OF    CARIB    INDIANS. VENEZUELA. 


Il8  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Homeward    Bound. 

TH  E  days  and  evenings  were  so  agreeably  spent  in 
Caracas  that  it  was  with  extreme  regret  that,  at  the 
end  of  a  week,  we  were  obHged  to  say  adieu  to  the  many 
kind  people  whose  acquaintance  we  had  made,  and  return  to 
La  Guayra  to  commence  our  homeward  voyage. 

The  climate  of  Caracas  we  had  found  delightful  and  lead  us 
to  applaud  the  wisdom  of  the  old  Spaniards,  which  induced 
them  to  build  their  beautiful  cities  on  such  heavenly  heights. 
The  people  we  had  found  both  polite  and  generously  hospi- 
table, and  we  flattered  ourselves  that  the  more  cultivated 
classes  have  a  little  warmer  feeling  toward  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  than  toward  any  other  foreign  visitors  to 
their  city.  Certain  it  is  we  heard  nothing  but  words  of  praise 
and  friendship  for  our  country,  its  citizens  and  its  government. 
Germans  are  also  much  liked  in  Venezuela,  but  the  same 
cannot  be  said  —  so  far  as  our  observation  went  —  of  the 
English.  There  is  a  deep  feeling  of  resentment  toward  them 
for  the  encroachment  of  their  government  upon  valuable 
territory  claimed  by  Venezuela,  and  the  breach  will  widen 
rapidly  unless  a  reasonable  compromise  is  soon  effected. 

Soon-  after  reaching  La  Guayra  we  again  embarked  on  the 
steamer  "  Philadelphia,"  and  the  homeward  voyage  began. 
Our  cargo  consisted  of  twenty-five  thousand  bags  of  coffee, 
weighing  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  each,  several  thou- 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  Jig 

sand  hides,  large  numbers  of  goat  and  deer  skins,  several 
hundred  sacks  of  bones  and  divi-diva,  besides  bananas,  salt 
fish,  cocoa,  etc.  Our  ship  with  its  heavy  cargo  rides  very 
steadily  and  all  the  passengers  are  in  the  best  of  spirits.  Our 
invalids  have  become  well  and  active,  and  we  resume  our 
amusements  with  renewed  zest  and  thorough  enjoyment. 

My  intimacy  with  Mr.  Morrison  resulted  in  his  imparting 
to  me  the  fact  that  he  was  a  minstrel  by  profession,  and  was 
the  part  proprietor  of  a  well-known  and  fashionable  minstrel 
troupe  located  in  New  York.  He  assumed  the  name  of 
Morrison  while  on  this  voyage  to  avoid  any  unpleasant 
publicity,  and  his  incognito  was  respected  by  me  to  the  end 
of  our  voyage. 

And  now,  after  six  or  seven  days  of  delightful  weather  and 
smooth  seas,  we  approach  that  fair  land  where  the  changing 
seasons  are  more  beautiful  than  continual  bloom  and  summer ; 
where  the  maples  are  more  lovely  than  the  towering  palms  ; 
where  the  women  have  the  roses  of  health  on  their  cheeks 
and  the  light  of  love  and  intelligence  in  their  eyes,  far 
excelling  in  their  beauty  all  the  dark-eyed  senoritas  of  these 
Southern  climes ;  where  Peace  reigns  under  a  beneficent 
government  of  the  people  and  for  the  people — or  if  grim- 
visaged  War  ever  darkens  that  fair  land,  it  is  to  preserve  those 
grand  institutions,  founded  on  liberty  and  justice,  which  our 
forefathers  established  and  bequeathed  to  us,  and  which  are 
the   ADMIRATION   OF   THE   WORLD. 

It  is  as  we  approach  our  dear  native  land  from  a  foreign 
shore,  that  '  our  hearts  burn  with  love  for  our  matchless 
government.  As  we  revolve  in  our  mind  all  the  blessings  we 
enjoy  so  largely  in  excess  of  those  of  any  other  people, 
we  cannot  help  singing  from  the  heart : 


I20  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

"  My  native  country,  thee, 
Land  of   the  noble,   free, 

Thy  name  I  love  ; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills. 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills  ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above." 

The  old  saying,  "when  March  comes  in  like  a  lamb  it  will 
go  out  like  a  lion,"  was  never  better  verified  than  it  was  on  , 
this  voyage  in  March,  1887.  The  first  day  of  the  month  in 
New  York  was  bright  and  sunshiny  with  moderating  weather, 
and  on  the  second  day,  when  we  sailed  for  South  America, 
the  air  was  soft  and  balmy  as  in  June.  Even  outside  of 
Sandy  Hook,  with  a  fresh  breeze,  no  overcoat  was  needed, 
and  not  till  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  same  month,  on  our 
homeward  voyage,  did  I  again  don  that  garment  so  necessary 
in  a  Northern  climate  at  this  season  of  the  year. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  instant  we  caught  the  sun  and  took 
an  observation,  which  showed  us  to  be  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  miles  from  New  York.  In  less  than  an  hour 
afterward  a  dense  fog  closed  in  about  us,  though  the  wind 
was  strong  from  the  southeast  and  a  heavy  sea  was  running. 
The  fog-whistle  was  blown  every  three  minutes  as  we  steamed 
cautiously  along.  After  two  or  three  hours  the  fog  lifted,  and 
very  suddenly  the  wind  veered  around  to  the  westward  and 
blew  a  gale.  It  also  rained  in  torrents,  which  seemed  to  have 
the  effect  to  beat  down  the  waves  somewhat. 

The  rain  continued  till  about  eight  o'clock  P.  M.,  when  the 
wind  shifted  to  the  northeast,  and  a  blinding  snow-storm  set  in. 
It  also  grew  very  cold,  and  soon  our  rigging  was  coated  with 
ice  and  our  decks  covered  with  both  snow  and  ice.  The  wind 
howled  and  shrieked  through  the  rigging  like  so  many  demons 


f!MW'W!'W'">'!il^' 


T '  ■  i  rw/prMiir  ■jmamam 


122  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

from  the  infernal  regions.  It  was  impossible  to  stand  on  the 
deck.  If  going  forward  toward  the  bow  of  the  ship,  you  had 
to  pull  yourself  along  by  anything  that  you  could  lay  hold  of, 
and  if  going  aft,  you  had  to  hold  back  by  the  same  agencies 
or  be  blown  along  the  slippery  decks  in  the  most  summary 
manner.  A  journey  from  the  Social  Hall  to  the  wheel-house, 
meant  hard  work  and  a  thorough  drenching.  I  made  it 
once,  and  was  thereafter  content  to  remain  in  the  cabin  or  the 
Social  Hall  the  rest  of  the  night,  although  I  did  not  go  to 
sleep,  but  sat  up  to  watch  the  progress  of  events. 

The  weather  continued  like  this  till  daylight,  and  all 
through  that  terrible  night  Captain  Hess  stood  on  the  bridge, 
guiding,  so  far  as  lay  in  human  power,  the  destiny  of  his 
ship.  I  know  some  of  the  anxieties  that  weigh  upon  a  com- 
mander's mind  during  such  a  night  as  this,  and  as  I  saw 
Captain  Hess  come  down  from  the  bridge,  shortly  after  day- 
light, with  his  hair  and  beard  and  eyebrows  encased  with  ice, 
I  knew  that  he  felt  relieved  of  a  load  of  anxiety.  Darkness 
must  greatly  increase  the  perils  of  storm  on  the  sea,  for  the 
danger  of  collision  increases  in  snow-storm  or  fog,  when  no 
light  can  be  seen  a  ship's  length  ahead.  More  especially  is 
the  danger  of  collision  increased  as  any  large  port  like  that  of 
New  York  is  approached.  But  we  were  mercifully  preserved 
from  such  disaster,  and  shortly  after  breakfast,  when  about 
forty  miles  from  New  York,  we  took  on  the  pilot  who  had 
been  waiting  for  us  in  his  trim  little  schooner  all  through  that 
stormy  night. 

We  reached  our  dock*  at  about  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  thus 
ended  a  voyage  to  the  Spanish  Main  replete  with  rational,  and 
I  might  even  say  rapturous,  enjoyment  from  first  to  last.  My 
reflections   in   looking  back  upon   it   after  a  lapse  of  several 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  123 

months,  lead  me  to  wonder  how  people  can  resist  the  temp- 
tation to  take  these  tropical  voyages  in  the  winter  season. 
The  transition  from  the  keen  icy  blasts  of  the  North  to  the 
warm  and  delicious  air  of  the  tropics,  is  so  entrancing  that 
even  the  memory  of  it  long  after  is  a  delightful  pleasure.. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  excellent  accommodations  of  the 
steamer  "  Philadelphia,"  and  the  uniform  courtesyof  her  officers, 
and  I  have  been  informed  by  frequent  travelers  by  this  line, 
that  the  steamers  "Valencia"  and  "Caracas"  of  the  same 
line  are  nearly,  if  not  quite,  equal  in  all  their  appointments  and 
equally  well  officered.  I  am  quite  ready  to  believe  this,  for  the 
gentlemen  who  are  at  the  head  of  this  long-established  line  of 
steamers,  are  men  of  great  experience,  knowing  full  well  how 
to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  travelers  by  ocean,  and  sparing 
no  pains  or  expense  to  make  their  steamers  thoroughly  com- 
fortable, and  as  safe  as  human  agency  can  devise. 


124  ^^^    SPANISH    MAIN. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

The    Story    of    Toussaint    L'Ouverture. 

IN  a  retrospective  glance  at  the  history  of  the  West  India 
Islands  and  the  other  former  possessions  of  Spain  in  North, 
Central,  and  South  America,  from  their  discovery  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  present  time — when  only 
the  islands  of  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and  Isle  of  Pines  remain  in 
her  grasp — we  see  a  long  list  of  illustrious  names,  comprising 
eminent  navigators,  soldiers  and  statesmen. 

The  central  figure  in  this  group  of  historic  characters,  is, 
of  course,  "  Cristobal  Colon,"  or,  as  he  is  known  in  American 
history,  Christopher  Columbus.  His  story  is  familiar  to  all 
as  a  household  word,  and  need  not  be  referred  to  here,  but 
there  are  other  great  men  who  figured  prominently  in  the 
history  of  these  Spanish-American  countries,  whose  exploits 
are  not  so  familiar,  and  I  have  ventured  to  select  two  of  them 
to  be  the  subjects  of  short  biographical  sketches,  which  shall 
conclude  this  volume. 

The   Story  of   Toussaint  L'Ouverture. 

Hayti,  the  native  name  of  this  gem  of  the  Antilles,  signifies, 
in  the  Caribbean  tongue,  a  land  of  /n'g/i  Jiills.  Columbus 
called  it,  in  admiration  of  its  beauty,  Hispaniola,  or  Little 
Spain.  The  French  and  English  gave  currency  to  its  principal 
historical  title  St.  Domingo,  from  its  chief  city. 

The  Caribbean  race,  humanely  treated  by  the  great  navi- 
gator, afterwards  speedily  vanished  under  the  merciless  rigors 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  125 

'of  the  gold  mines.  Then,  in  the  greedy  strife  of  France  and 
.'Spain,  the  dark  and  melancholy  era  of  African  slavery  opened 
upon  those  luxuriant  shores. 

Next  to  Cuba,  Hayti  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
■beautiful  of  the  Greater  Antilles,  abounding  in  mineral 
■resources  of  large  variety,  and  favored  with  pleasing  and 
serviceable  diversities  of  climate.  Its  western  portion,  ceded 
by  Spain  to  France  in  1797,  rose  to  so  high  a  state  of 
agricultural  fertility  as  to  have  supplied  Europe  with  half 
its  consumed  sugar. 

Amidst  the  luxuriance  of  these  tropical  scenes,  the  justly 
celebrated  hero  and  patriot,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  was  born 
:in  1743.  Early  in  childhood  so  marked  was  his  physical 
delicacy,  that  even  the  hope  of  his  raising  was  despaired  of. 
But,  subsequently,  he  strengthened  and  hardened  into  a  youth 
■of  exceptional  vigor,  agility  and  endurance.  He  could  run, 
it  is  said,  like  an  antelope  ;  and  when  mounted  on  the  wildest 
and  fleetest  horse,  he  was  a  miniature  Alexander. 

He  is  credibly  stated  to  have  been  the  grandson  of  a 
powerful  and  virtuous  African  monarch  ;  who,  perhaps,  trans- 
mitted to  him  not  a  few  of  the  noble  traits  of  character  that 
his  mature  life  displayed.  As  a  slave,  it  was  his  great  privilege 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  an  overseer,  M.  Bayon,  of  uncommon 
kindness;  who,  among  other  things,  encouraged  him  to  learn 
to  read  and  write,  acquirements  that  largely  contributed  to 
his  ultimate  power,  as  his  tongue  and  pen  proved  no  less 
serviceable  to  him  than  his  sword.  And  most  munificently 
did  he  repay  the  benefit.  For  when  the  great  insurrection, 
1 79 1,  burst  upon  the  island,  M.  Bayon  being  on  the  point  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  infuriated  negroes,  the  faithful 
Toussaint  securely  embarked  him  and  his  family  on  board  a 
ship  for  America ;  furnished,  also,  with  many  hogsheads  of 
sugar  for  their  immediate  and  prospective  necessities. 


126  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

On  a  neighboring  plantation  there  lived  a  virtuous  black, 
Pierre  Baptiste  by  name,  who  stood  godfather  to  the  .little 
Toussaint  at  his  baptism  ;  and  who  afterwards  sedulously 
instructed  him  in  religion,  as  well  as  taught  him,  to  some 
extent,  both  French  and  Latin.  And  under  such  wise  and 
humane  culture,  the  young  African  grew  up  to  manhood  ;  and 
when  duly  married  and  installed  in  his  humble  cabin,  what 
could  furnish  a  more  pleasing  image  of  his  virtuous  and  con- 
tented life,  than  the  description  of  it  incidentally  given  by 
himself  to  a  casual  traveler? 

"  We  went,"  said  he,  "  to  labor  in  the  fields,  my  wife  and  I, 
hand  in  hand.  Scarcely  were  we  conscious  of  the  fatigues  of 
the  day.  Heaven  always  blessed  our  toil.  Not  only  had  we 
abundance  for  ourselves,  but  we  had  the  pleasure  of  giving 
food  to  blacks  who  needed  it.  On  the  Sabbath,  and  on 
festival  days,  we  went  to  church,  my  wife,  my  parents,  and 
myself.  Returning  to  our  cottage,  after  a  pleasant  meal,  we 
passed  the  remainder  of  the  day  as  a  family,  and  we  closed  it 
by  prayer,  in  which  all  took  part." 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  great  Insurrection  of 
St.  Domingo,  was  an  appeal  made  to  the  slaves, by  the  free 
mulattoes,  who  deemed  themselves  politically  misused  by  the 
whites.  This  appeal  fell  like  a  burning  coal  in  a  magazine  of 
powder,  awaking  the  slaves,  en  masse,  from. their  long  torpor. 
And  upon  the  night  air  of  August  21,  1791,  terrific  indeed  was 
the  tocsin  that  sounded  out,  "  Kill,  burn  and  destroy^'  being 
the  watchword  that  flew,  with  lightning  speed,  over  the  hills 
and  through  the  valleys  of  the  beautiful  land.  But  in  a  drama 
so  sanguinary,  Toussaint  would  have  neither  hand  nor  voice. 
His  soul  revolted  at  acts  so  extreme;  and  he  bravely  stood 
personal  guard  over  the  shivering  family  of  his  benignant 
overseer.  At  the  same  time  he  was  fully  prepared  to  co-operate 
with  his  race,  so  soon  as  the  project  of  their  freedom  could 
be  reduced  to  humane  and  warrantable  limits. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  I27 

Having  been  a  diligent  reader  of  the  works  of  the  famous 
Abbe  Raynal,  Toussaint  had  imbibed  from  them  fixed  and 
intelHgent  principles  on  the  great  topic  of  human  Hberty. 
And  particularly  had  he  noticed  the  prediction  of  that  eminent 
writer,  that  a  vindicator  of  negro  wrongs  would  ultimately 
arise  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  negro  race.  But  the  ripeness  of 
over  fifty  years  was  upon  him,  before  he  dared  seriously  to 
think  of  himself  as  possibly  that  vindicator.  Leaders  of  no 
small  worth  and  valor  had  preceded  him — Biasson,  Bouknant, 
Jean  Francois,  and  the  like.  But  in  the  admiration,  con- 
fidence and  trust  of  his  dusky  fellow-strugglers,  he  speedilv 
outdistanced  them  all.  He  is  described  as  possessed  of  a 
fine  eye,  rapid  and  penetrating  in  its  glances ;  sober  by  rigid 
habit ;  incessant  and  untiring  in  activit)',  and  astute  and 
judicious  in  all  his  plans  and  movements.  In  the  military 
tactics  of  the  island,  neither  Spain,  France,  nor  England,  ever 
long  succeeded  in  outgeneraling  him.  And  this  credit  is  fully 
accorded  him  by  French  chroniclers,  who,  otherwise,  were  glad 
to  detract  from  his  merits.  They  speak  of  him  as  an  excellent 
horseman,  traveling  with  surprising  rapidity  from  point  to 
point.  To  the  ignorant  negroes  he  seemed  as  if  superior  to 
time  and  space.  He  and  his  swift-galloping  horse  appeared  in 
their  eyes  as  almost  one  compound  being.  As  a  general,  he 
was  the  unrivalled  idol  of  his  troops,  and  even  by  observers  of 
an  higher  social  grade,  he  was  not  unfrequently  likened  to 
some  great  and  noted  captain  of  other  lands  and  times. 

Long  wearied  by  the  clashing  arms  of  Spain  and  France  for 
the  possession  of  his  native  island,  he  at  length  cast  his  lot 
unreservedly  with  France  ;  onl}%  however,  with  the  distinct 
understanding  and  proviso,  that  the  enslavement  of  his  people 
was  to  be  forever  a  thing  of  the  past.  On  this  point  he  was 
inflexible.  He  carried  on  his  heart  the  pregnant  sentence  of 
Abbe  Raynal,  ''Liberty  is  everyone's  oivii  property ^     And  from 


128  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

this    he   never    swerved,    though    a    most    faithful    servant    of 
France,  through  all   the  changing  phases  of  her  government. 

The  French  commissioners  he  uniformly  received  with  all 
due  respect ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  checkmated  all  their  plots 
to  re-establish  the  African  servitude. 

The  extraordinary  abilities  of  this  remarkable  man,  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  caused  the  French  powers,  in  1797,  to  commis- 
sion him  general-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  St.  Domingo. 
And  this  was  subsequently  confirmed  by  Napoleon,  and  con- 
tinued until  Leclerc,  the  pampered  husband  of  Pauline,  Napo- 
leon's sister,  appeared  on  the  scene.  This  man  was  sent  out, 
if  possible,  to  seduce  this  colonial  patriot;  or,  at  all  events,  by 
some  means,  to  capture  him  ;  a  mistake  that  eventually  cost 
France  the  loss  of  the  beautiful  island,  and  gave  there  to 
Leclerc  himself  an  inglorious  grave. 

No  one  could  allege  that  Toussaint's  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  island  had  not  been  most  felicitous.  Refugee 
planters  to  the  United  States  came  back,  by  his  invitation,  to 
their  former  homes,  and  were  faithfully  protected.  Upon  all 
employers  of  the  negroes,  he  enjoined  moderation  in  discipline, 
and  liberality  in  food  and  sustenance.  He  sought,  also,  all 
reasonable  means  of  reconciling  these  laborers  to  their  lot, 
encouraging  them  to  application  and  industry.  He  made  laws 
against  idleness  and  vagrancy,  and  enforced  them  with  rigor. 
He  fostered,  also,  education  and  religion.  And  so  the  long 
blood-stained  and  war-scarred  island  rapidly  put  on  a  smiling 
and  happy  face. 

At  this  juncture  England,  at  war  with  France,  dispatched 
thither  assaulting  fleets  and  armies.  But  these  hostile 
attempts  were  all  admirably  met  by  the  skillful  and  every- 
where-present Toussaint.  His  allegiance  to  France  never 
faltered.  This  was  so  conspicuous  that  even  the  ill-natured 
Dubroca  was  constrained  to  testify  of  him,  that  "his  conduct 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  1 29 

during  the  war  with  the  EngHsh  was  briUiant,  and  without  a 
stain."  The  first  consul  himself  also  wrote  him,  that  "  if  the 
colors  of  the  French  people  fly  on  St.  Domingo,  it  is  to  you 
and  your  brave  blacks  that  we  owe  it." 

But,  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  Napoleon,  loosed  from  his 
European  wars  by  the  peace  of  Amiens,  suddenly  dispatched 
an  army  of  20,000  men  to  re-establish  in  Hayti  the  hated 
human  slavery.  He  sought  to  conceal  his  design.  But  all  his 
duplicity,  and  that  of  his  emissaries,  failed  to  blind  the  eyes  of 
Toussaint.  He  distinctly  announced  to  them  all  that,  while 
remaining  loyal  to  France,  he  should  also  be  true  to  the  free- 
dom of  his  race,  and  that  on  this  line  the  remaining  battle  of 
his  life  would  be  fought  out.  And  there  he  stood,  like  a  stag 
at  bay,  until  the  basest  of  treachery  stole  him  from  his  family 
and  his  people,  and  shut  him  up  in  a  foreign  fortress  to  die. 
But,  by  a  just  Nemesis,  the  perfidious  Leclerc  must  die  too, 
for  the  "  Yellow  Jack"  ere  long  clutched  him,  and  interred  his 
fetid  bones  in  the  soil  of  the  land  that  he  had  so  shamefully 
sought  to  enslave. 

Napoleon,  it  is  said,  could  never  forgive  the  innocently 
spoken  words  of  Toussaint,  duly  reported  to  him,  that  "if 
Bonaparte  is  the  first  man  in  France,  Toussaint  is  the  first 
man  in  the  Archipelago  of  the  Antilles."  Such  an  one  the 
haughty  Corsican  could  no  longer  endure.  By  some  means, 
fair  or  foul,  his  downfall  must  be  accomplished.  From  a 
project  so  unworthy,  the  French  Minister  Vincent  has  the 
solitary  distinction  of  trying  to  dissuade  his  master,  receiving 
only,  in  answer,  the  sentence  of  banishment  to  the  island  of 
Elba  ;  the  identical  spot,  singularly  enough,  to  which  the  lofty 
tyrant  was  himself  subsequently  banished. 

An  artful  letter  addressed  to  Toussaint  as  "  Citizen  Gen- 
eral," in  which  Napoleon  flatters  him  in  high  strains,  con- 
cludes with  this  remarkable  tribute:     "And  you,  General,  are 


130  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

the  first  of  your  color  that  has  reached  such  an  height  of 
power,  and  that  has  gained  such  distinction  by  bravery  and 
military  talent." 

But  the  sole  aim  of  all  this  chicanery  was  to  remove  Tous- 
saint  out  of  the  path  of  his  nefarious  designs  upon  the  liberty 
of  the  blacks.  With  this  powerful  chief  on  the  island,  the 
first  consul  saw  no  possible  restoration  of  slavery.  Hence  the 
necessity  of  his  removal.  And  the  accomplishment  of  this 
base  project  was  the  clwf-d'cBiivre  of  the  knavish  Leclerc. 
Decoyed,  in  the  most  deceitful  manner,  from  the  quiet  and 
security  of  his  home,  on  the  pretext  of  a  friendly  interview, 
Toussaint  suddenly  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  troop  of 
armed  men,  and  himself  solitary.  With  the  instinct  of  a 
soldier,  he  drew  his  sword ;  but,  upon  a  moment's  reflection, 
he  sheathed  it  again,  with  these  tranquil,  and  also  prophetic, 
words:  "The  justice  of  Heaven  will  avenge  my  cause" — 
amply  afterwards  fulfilled,  if  not  elsewhere,  at  least  on  the 
rocky  islet  of  St.  Helena. 

Then  quickly  followed  his  transfer  to  a  French  frigate,  his 
transit  across  the  Atlantic,  his  imprisonment  at  Paris,  and  his 
final  incarceration  within  the  gloomy  walls  of  the  Joux,  amid 
the  deep  recesses  of  the  Jura  Mountains. 

Against  such  perfidy  and  cruelty  the  poor  captive  pleaded 
in  vain.  The  dampness  of  his  dungeon,  and  his  systematic 
starvation,  rapidly  wasted  him  away.  All  his  most  touching 
appeals  to  Paris  were  in  vain.  He  might  as  well  have  spoken 
to  the  mute  walls  or  mountains  around  him.  His  destiny  was 
sealed.  The  supplies  of  food  became  more  and  more  scanty ; 
all  his  wants  were  neglected,  until  at  last,  the  fountain  of  his 
life  utterly  exhausted,  the  inhuman  jailer  found  him,  early  in 
April,  1803,  silent  in  death. 

The  news  of  his  death,  in  Hayti,  was  soon  followed  by  des- 
perate uprisings  of  the   people,  and   by   the   expulsion  of  the 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBliEAN.  131 

French.  Also,  intestine  wars  spread  over  the  land.  The  fierce 
strife  of  races,  colors,  and  different  sections  of  the  island, 
under  great  leaders  like  Dessalines,  Christophe,  Petiore,  Boyer 
and  others,  is  painful  to  reflect  upon  ;  although  it  consoles  us 
to  think  that,  under  the  merciful  guidance  of  a  Supreme 
Power,  they  ultimately  resulted  in  the  final  and  permanent 
deliverance  of  Hayti  from  the  thraldom  of  African  slavery. 

Our  hero,  Toussaint,  known  in  early  life  by  his  baptismal 
name  of  Fj-anv^ois  Dominique,  has  passed  into  history  as  Tous- 
saint L'Ouverture.  Of  the  origin  of  this  latter  title,  accounts 
somewhat  vary.  The  most  common  of  these  is,  that  General 
Lareaux,  noticing  the  facility  with  which  Toussaint  brushed 
aside  difficulties  in  his  path,  said  to  certain  around  him,  "  Cet 
homme  fait  oiiverture  partoiit,"  meaning  that  he  was  capable 
of  making  an  opening,  or  way,  for  himself  and  his  cause 
under  all  circumstances.  And  from  this  incident  "  L'Ouver- 
ture," or  the  opening,  became  permanently  attached  to  his 
name.  The  talented  Lamartine  inclined  to  "  L'Aurora,"  the 
day-break,  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  a  monk,  who  thus 
distinguished  Toussaint  as  the  morning  star  o(  Haytien  free- 
dom. Still  a  third  account  is  that  given  by  Lacroix,  that 
Toussaint  himself,  independently,  assumed  the  title,  to  signify 
thereby  to  his  race  and  people  that  he  felt  assured  that  he 
could  open  to  them  the  door  of  a  better  future,  if  they  would 
follow  him.  And  to  this  last  we  confess  ourselves  inclined  to 
give  in  our  adherence. 

As  to  the  general  character  of  this  great  man,  no  estimate 
of  it  could  be  just  that  failed  to  place  it  high.  In  his  deter- 
mined revolt  against  the  servitude  of  his  race,  he  had  all  the 
fire  and  energy  of  Spartacus,  with  vastly  more  of  self-restraint 
and  humanity.  As  a  patriot  and  liberator,  he  was  one  of  whom 
Bolivar,  himself,  need  not  have  been  ashamed,  while  he  had 
not  a  tithe  of  Bolivar's  social   advantagfes  to  lift   him   to   his 


132  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

eminence.  In  the  untaught  skill  with  which  he  foiled  the 
trained  hosts  of  Spain,  France  and  England,  he  reminds  us. 
of  Wallace  and  Bruce,  or  even  of  Alfred  the  Great.  And  we 
should  not  shame  even  the  Roman  Cincinnatus  by  naming 
them  in  company.  Those  who  knew  him  best,  scarcely  set 
any  bounds  to  their  admiration  of  his  works  and  worth. 

His  pledged  word  of  fidelity  was  so  well  recognized,  that 
it  was  never  questioned  or  distrusted.  Of  this  a  noticeable 
instance  occurred  in  the  case  of  the  British  General  Maitland, 
who  ventured  to  visit  Toussaint  at  his  camp  in  the  mountains 
during  the  English  war  with  France.  The  French  commis- 
sioner, Roume,  snatching  at  so  rare  an  opportunity,  wrote  a 
hasty  letter  to  Toussaint  to  capture  General  Maitland.  Soon 
after  Maitland  reached  the  camp  Toussaint  came  in,  and 
handed  him  two  letters,  saying,  "  There,  General,  read  these, 
before  we  talk  together.  The  one  is  a  letter  just  received 
from  Roume  and  the  other  my  answer.  I  would  not  come  to 
you  till  I  had  written  my  answer  to  him,  that  you  may  see 
how  safe  you  are  with  me  and  how  incapable  I  am  of  baseness." 
Like  Juba,  the  Numidian  prince  in  Addison's  "  Cato,"  he 
could  say : 

"Better  to  die  a  thousand   deaths, 
Than  wound  my  honor." 

Above  all,  he  was  devoutly  and  most  honestly  religious ; 
as  the  Spanish  Marquis  D'Hermona,  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately, said  of  him,  somewhat  extravagantly  perhaps,  "  If  the 
Heavenly  Being  were  to  descend  upon  earth,  he  could  not 
inhabit  a  heart  more  apparently  good  than  that  of  Toussaint." 

On  the  whole,  then,  observing  this  remarkable  man  from 
first  to  last,  or  surveying  him  from  head  to  foot,  as  Brutus 
said  of  Caesar,  that  he  was  "  the  foremost  man  of  all  this- 
world,"  so  we  may  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  TOUSSAIN  T 
L'OUVERTURE,  THE  *' FOREMO.S  T  MAN"  OF  ALL  THE  NEGRO 
RACE   KNOWN   TO    HISTORY. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  1 33 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Don  Francisco  Pizarro,  Discoverer  and  Conqueror 
OF    Peru,    and    its    First    Viceroy. 

THE  life  and  adventures,  discoveries  and  exploits,  of 
this  celebrated  Spanish  explorer  and  military  com- 
mander, during  the  era  of  South  America's  invasion  and 
subjection  to  European  rule,  are  of  remarkable  historic  and 
€ven  romantic  interest.  There  are  scenes  disclosed  in  his 
record,  as  given  by  old  writers,  and  by  our  own  Prescott,  in 
his  exhaustive  and  admirable  "  History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Peru,"  so  novel  to  other  ages  and  regions,  that  they  strike 
on  the  mind  almost  as  fairy  tales  of  the  "  Arabian  Nights." 
As  we  read  chapters  describing  the  civilization,  arts,  public 
works,  and,  specially,  the  gold  of  the  ancient  Peruvians,  which 
no  other  nation  in  the  world  ever  had  in  such  abundance,  we 
do  not  marvel  that  that  part  of  the  New  World  should  have 
excited  the  cupidity  of  its  Castilian  invaders  to  the  utmost, 
and  induced  them  to  make  such  terrible  sacrifices  to  seize  on 
this  tempting  El  Dorado,  while  we  deplore  the  fate,  at  their 
rapacious  hands,  of  so  noble  a  race  and  so  fair  and  beautiful 
a  kingdom. 

Our  limits  will  not,  however,  permit  much  detail  of  facts 
in  the  present  sketch,  and,  referring  our  readers  who  desire 
more  particulars  to  Mr.  Prescott's  full  pages,  and  to  the 
unique,  learned  and  brilliant  volume,  by  Ignatius  Donelly, 
called  "Atlantis,"  that  vast  sunken  island  of  antiquity,  de- 
scribed by  Plato,  we  must   content  ourselves  with  presenting 


134  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

a  brief   resume  of    Pizarro's    career,    and    his    Peruvian    dis- 
coveries and  acquisitions. 

Francisco  Pizarro,  the  oldest  of  several  brothers  wha 
followed  him  to  South  America  and  also  became  famous 
there,  was  born  in  the  City  of  Truxillo  in  the  Province  of 
Estremadura,  Spain,  whence  he  came  to  Panama,  as  early  as 
Cortez,  but  did  not  rise  to  reputation  as  quickly.  His  first 
expedition  sailed  from  that  port  in  November,  1524,  associated 
with  Diego  de  Almagro,  another  great  explorer  and  soldier. 
They  had  but  one  ship  and  one  hundred  and  nineteen  men, 
and  this  attempt  to  enter  the  land  of  the  Incas  was  entirely 
unsuccessful.  Nor  more  so  at  first,  was  his  second  expedition, 
which  was  reinforced  by  another  hundred  of  his  countrymen 
and  some  Indians. 

Having  arrived  at  a  marshy,  watery  place,  where  the  people 
lived  in  trees,  they  repulsed  the  invaders,  called  them  the  scum 
of  the  seas,  and  would  admit  none  in  their  country  who  wore 
beards.  The  inhabitants  made  a  great  show  of  precious  stones 
and  gold.  Pizarro's  men  now  became  discouraged,  but  he  did 
not  lose  hope,  and  would  not  suffer  any  to  return  or  even  to 
write  to  Panama,  although  word  got  to  the  governor  there  of 
this  state  of  things,  when  he  decreed  that  no  man  should  stay 
with  Pizarro  against  his  will.  Subsequently,  for  awhile,  he  was 
reduced  to  great  straits  for  food,  etc.,  with  his  remaining  fol- 
lowers. But  fortune  soon  smiled  upon  him,  and  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a  foothold  in  a  rich  country,  with  a  dignified  king, 
named  Atahualpa.  This  empire,  called  Quichua  by  its  citizens^ 
Pizarro  named  Peru,  and  soon  after  returned  to  Spain,  whither 
he  had  before  transmitted  a  "  relation  "  of  his  important  dis- 
coveries, and  on  this  visit  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  gave  him 
the  proud  title  of  Adelantado  of  Peru. 

Going  back  now  with  his  three  brothers,  Fernando,  Juan  and 
Garsalo,  he  again  was  joined  at  Panama  by  Almagro — although 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  135 

offended  that  Pizarro  had  taken  all  the  honor  of  discoveries  to 
himself  when  in  Spain — and  set  out  on  an  expedition  against 
the  unfortunate  Atahalipa,  as  his  name  is  sometimes  spelled, 
defeated  his  army  and  took  him  prisoner,  capturing  also  the 
island  of  Puma.  The  captured  king,  however,  ransomed  him- 
self by  an  amount  of  gold  that  filled  a  high  and  spacious  room. 
The  spoil  was  then  divided  among  Pizarro's  men,  and  never 
any  soldiers  in  the  world  were  richer  than  his.  He  also  dealt 
justly  with  Almagro  and  gave  him  what  was  his  due  share. 
But,  although  gold  was  so  plenty,  what  they  needed  to  buy  was, 
of  course,  dearer,  viz. :  a  shirt  cost  ;^io,  a  quart  of  wine  ;^5 
and  a  house  ^^250.  Many  soldiers  returned,  some  with  30,000' 
and  some  with  40,000  ducats  in  plate.  But  alas  for  poor  Ata- 
halipa !  After  having  thus  stripped  him  and  his  subjects,  and, 
finally,  accused  of  treachery  on  evidence  by  no  means  decisive, 
he  was  led  to  execution,  and  "  thus  by  the  death  of  a  vile 
malefactor,  perished  the  last  of  the  Incas !  "  Before  his  death, 
having  been  instructed  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  sacred  rite,  he  desired  to  be 
baptized,  and  was  christened  Juan  de  Atahualpa,  on  account 
of  its  being  St.  John  the  Baptist's  day  when  it  took  place. 

It  was  not  without  the  pretext  of  extending  the  faith  and 
spiritual  blessings  of  Christendom,  that  the  Spaniards  prose- 
cuted their  conquests,  and,  in  answer  to  the  Peruvian  chief, 
"  why  they  had  come  to  those  shores?"  Pizarro  replied,  "  that 
he  was  the  vassal  of  the  greatest  king  of  the  world,  and  had 
come  to  assert  his  master's  lawful  supremacy,  as,  also,  to  res- 
cue the  Peruvians  from  the  worship  of  the  evil  spirit,  and  to 
give  them  the  knowledge  of  the  true  and  only  God,  and  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  to  believe  was  salvation."  "  In  the 
name  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,"  says  the  eloquent  Dr.  Robert- 
son, in  his  "  History  of  the  New  World,"  "  they  ratified  a  con- 
tract of  which  plunder  and  bloodshed  were  the  object."     The 


136  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

massacre  of  thousands  of  his  unarmed  and  unresisting  subjects 
around  him,  when  their  king  was  seized  for  the  last  time,  forms 
one  of  the  darkest  chapters  in  the  annals  of  time.  The  inno- 
cent Peruvians,  before  the  sad  lessons  of  experience  taught 
them  better,  had  imagined  that,  as  they  had  never  done  any 
harm  to  the  Spaniards,  none  would  be  done  to  them. 

As  an  all-important  objective  point,  Pizarro  soon  took  pos- 
session of  Cuzco,  the  chief  city  of  Peru,  where  he  found  immense 
wealth.  So  plenty  was  gold,  that  it  was  reported  that  even 
the  kitchen  utensils  in  most  houses  were  of  that  precious 
metal,  and  the  tiles  of  their  roofs.  One  of  their  palaces  had 
an  artificial  garden,  the  soil  of  which  was  made  of  small  pieces 
of  fine  gold,  which  was  artificially  planted  with  different  kinds 
of  maize,  having  golden  stems,  leaves  and  ears,  and  placed  in 
it  twenty  sheep,  with  lambs  and  shepherds,  four  llamas,  ten 
women  of  full  size,  all  of  gold,  and  a  cistern  of  gold  that 
excited  universal  wonder.  This  agrees  with  Plato's  picture  of 
ancient  mythical  Atlantis.  The  most  renowned  temple  was  at 
Cuzco,  the  interior  of  which  was  literally  a  mine  of  gold.  On 
the  walls  was  emblazoned  a  representation  of  the  Deity,  con- 
sisting of  a  human  countenance  looking  forth  from  innumer- 
able rays  of  light. 

It  is  related  that  the  old  Peruvian  name  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  the  Creator,  was  Virachocha,  or  PacJiacamac.  They 
called  jewels  the  "  tears  wept  from  the  sun."  The  value  of 
such  as  adorned  the  great  temple  at  Cuzco,  was  computed  at 
180  millions  of  dollars.  But  the  Peruvians  did  not  value  gold 
and  silver  so  much  as  money  as  for  sacred  uses.  This  remark- 
■  able  people  had  made  great  advances  in  the  arts,  and  particu- 
larly in  architecture,  like  the  ancient  Egyptians,  with  whom 
they  had  other  points  of  resemblance,  e.  g.,  in  the  worship  of 
the  sun,  moon  and  planets,  the  soul's  immortality,  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  division  of  the  year,  castes  as  in  India,  triumphal 
arches  for  returning  heroes,  agricultural  interests,  etc. 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN. 


^?>7 


But  we  must  now  speak  of  the  civilization  and  architectural 
remains  of  this  wonderful  race.  Says  Baldwin,  in  his  "Ancient 
America,"  "This  whole  region,  as  found  by  the  Spaniards,  was 
a  prosperous  and  populous  empire,  and  presented  a  notable 
development  of  some  of  the  more  important  arts  of  civilized 
life."  Pizarro's  company  found  everywhere  traces  of  a  civiliza- 
tion of  vast  antiquity,  Cyclopean  building  stones,  and  gateways, 
of  stone  thirty  feet  long,  fifteen  feet  wide  and  six  feet  thick. 
In  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Chimus,  in  North  Peru,  which 
remains  to  this  day,  its  ruins  covering  not  less  than  twenty 
square  miles,  are  found  pyramidal  structures  half  a  mile  in 
circumference,  massive  walls,  each  with  its  water  tank,  etc. 
Around  Lake  Titicaca  are  great  buildings  of  brown  stone, 
having  doors  and  windows,  with  posts,  sills  and  thresholds  of 
stone,  in  modern  New  York  City  style.  At  Cuelap  there  is  a 
wall  3,600  feet  long,  560  feet  broad,  and  150  feet  high,  on  the 
top  of  which  another  lofty  one  pierces  the  sky.  There  are, 
also,  near  Huamango,  aqueducts  and  public  roads  across 
sierras  and  rivers,  some  over  suspension  bridges,  and  one  road, 
from  Cuzco  to  Chili,  hundreds  of  miles  long.  Of  this,  Hum- 
boldt, the  celebrated  traveler  and  savant,  says :  "The  road 
was  marvelous  ;  none  of  the  Roman  roads  I  had  seen  in  Italy, 
the  south  of  P'rance,  or  in  Spain,  appeared  to  me  more  impos- 
ing than  this  work  of  the  ancient  Peruvians."  These  structures 
are  said  to  have  been  built  before  the  time  of  the  Incas.  So, 
also,  their  products  in  cotton  and  wool  are  said  to  have  ex- 
ceeded in  fineness  anything  known  in  Europe  at  that  time. 
As  to  these  accumulations  of  wealth,  it  is  related  that  in 
twenty-five  years  after  the  conquest,  the  Spaniards  sent  eight 
hundred  millions  of  dollars  to  old  Spain.  Pizarro  himself  had 
the   chair   or   throne   of   the   Incas,  which   was   of  solid    gold. 

But  to  revert  once  more  to  the  awful  massacre  of  the  unsus- 
pecting  thousands   by    this    ferocious    conqueror,   when    their 


138  THE    SPANISH    MAIN. 

monarch,  Atahualpa,  was  captured  to  be  spared  but  for  a  brief 
space,  we  would  say  that  this  booty  was  bought  at  a  sacrifice 
of  honor  and  good  faith,  such  as  all  history  can  scarcely  par- 
allel. And  although  it  is  true  that  the  last  of  the  Incas  had, 
in  securing  his  own  imperial  station,  committed  fearful  atro- 
cities, this  fact  did  not  justify  the  perfidy  of  the  Spaniards  in 
seizing  his  person  for  their  prey,  and  his  public  execution  at 
their  hands.  But  a  day  of  Providential  retribution  was  near, 
in  the  form  of  a  dire  civil  war  among  the  invaders  themselves, 
in  which  the  slain  were  many,  and  Pizarro  one  of  them.  He 
had  quarreled  with  and  put  to  death  his  early  friend,  Almagro, 
and  resisted  the  authority  of  Peter  de  la  Gasca,  whom  the 
emperor  of  Spain  had  sent  to  quell  the  revolts  in  Peru,  and 
empowered  to  right  the  wrongs  of  that  injured  people.  His 
death  was  in  Quito,  and  one  of  violence,  when  desperately 
resisting  those  whose  mission  was  his  execution,  and  "  Jesu  !  " 
was  the  last  utterance  of  his  lips.  Yet  his  faithful  biographer, 
the  historian  of  the  conquest,  Prescott,  does  not  give  him  the 
credit  of  the  religious  sincerity  and  zeal  for  propagating  the 
faith,  of  Cortez,  his  kinsman,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico. 

The  predominant  passion  of  Pizarro  was  undoubtedly  the 
thirst  for  gold  and  dominion  at  any  cost.  Yet  he  was  brave 
by  nature,  and  endowed  with  courage  to  face  unexampled 
difficulties.  His  march  across  the  Andes  was  heroic.  His 
speech  to  his  soldiers,  at  that  time,  is  worthy  of  commemora- 
tion, viz.:  "  Let  every  one  of  you  take  courage  to  go  forward 
like  a  good  soldier.  God  fights  for  his  own.  Doubt  not  He 
will  humble  the  power  of  the  heathen,  and  bring  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  faith,  the  great  object  of  the  conquest." 
His  birth  is  supposed  to  have  been  about  a.  d.  1471 — he  came 
to  the  New  World  several  years  before  his  invasion  of  Peru — 
and  his  death  occurred  not  far  from  the  year  1546.  The 
people  he  was  the  instrument  of  conquering,  were  in  every 


THIRTY    DAYS    ON    THE    CARIBBEAN.  i  ^<^ 

respect  a  grand  and  powerful  race,  and  without  their  fire-arms 
and  horses,  the  Spaniards  never  could  have  subdued  them. 
Their  laws  were  almost  agrarian  with  respect  to  landed  prop- 
erty, their  institutions  just,  and  their  faith  in  a  future  world  of 
discrimination  between  the  good  and  the  bad,  was  such  as  the 
ancient  Egyptians  held  to,  and  which,  probably,  many  who 
"  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians  "  do  not  any  more  prac- 
tically regard.  And,  says  Mr.  Prescott,  familiar  with  all  the 
old  Spanish  records  of  the  Peruvians  by  learned  and  pious 
Roman  Catholic  priests,  "  They  had  attained  to  the  sublime 
conception  of  one  Great  Spirit,  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the 
universe."  The  frontispiece  of  his  noble  work  presents  an 
engraved  likeness  of  Pizarro,  from  an  original  full-length 
painting  in  the  Palace  of  the  Incas,  at  Lima. 

On  a  column  at  Truxillo,  Spain,  his  birth-place,  are  to  be 
found  the  following  lines,  by  the  celebrated  English  poet 
Southey,  which  condensed  in  a  small  compass  the  more 
remarkable  traits  of  Pizarro's  character,  and  with  them  we 
conclude  the  present  imperfect  sketch  : 

Pizarro  here  was  born  ;    a  greater  name 

The  list  of  glory  boasts  not.     Toil  and  pain, 

Famine  and  hostile  elements  .a.nd  hosts 

Embattled,  failed  to  check  him  in  his  course, 

Not  to  be  wearied,  not  to  be  deterred, 

Not  to  be  overcome.     A  mighty  realm 

He  overran,  and  with  resistless  arm, 

Slew  or  enslaved  its  unoffending   sons, 

And  wealth,  and  power,  and  fame,  made  his  rewards. 

There  is  another  world  beyond  the  grave, 

According  to  their  deeds,  where  men  are  judged. 

O,  reader  !   if  thy  daily  bread  be  earned 

By  daily  labor — yea,  however   low — 

However  wretched  be  thy  lot  assumed, 

Thank  thou,  with  deepest  gratitude,  the  God 

Who  >l\de  thee,  that  thou  art  not  such  as  he. 


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